Leader of the Pack
by silentE
Summary: Ino and Kiba have been warned! The mission is a success or they will both be sent to a leadership conference. As each insists on being "team leader," will they succeed?
1. Chapter 1

"Time to quit, Akamaru." Kiba gave the large dog a pat on the head before taking the last steps to the side of the lake where he finally gave way to exhaustion and crashed down onto the soft green grass. Even he had to admit that he might have overdone it for once after nearly nine straight hours of training but, then, things otherwise had been rather slow lately. Training was about the only pleasure he had left and he couldn't remember the last time he'd actually been on a decent mission. What was the point of being a chuunin if it was only to be reduced to C and B-level jobs? Pushing his body too hard was primarily in hopes of getting noticed when the next A or S-class mission did come along. Maybe he'd make jounin sometime soon but for now he only ached, especially his head.

The sun was still high enough in the sky to burn and he found himself squinting, protecting his sensitive eyes from the blazing rays with his arm, when suddenly he caught a dark, peripheral flash off to his right. He tensed for only a second as he came to recognize the figure of Raido who had landed just two meters away. The fellow ninja's visit was in fact a welcome sight as it would most likely mean his presence was being requested for an audience with the Hokage. Perhaps there was a new mission in store for him after all.

The dog ninja's mood was about to perk up when Raido cut it back down: "Hey, Kiba, wake up! Lady Tsunade wants to see you in her office pronto. What the hell are you doing lazing around this time of day anyway? I almost ran by you. Thought you were Shikamaru there for a second."

Now that was a low blow! Kiba groaned. After having trained his ass off, someone would of course find him now while he was looking like some kind of lazy bastard but it was too late to try and save face now.

"Yeah, I'll be there in a minute," he replied, finally lifting his arm from his forehead and rolling over onto his side. He didn't bother to leap up, and the movement wouldn't have helped the loud thumping in his head, but made his way slowly to his feet. It wasn't like another minute or two would matter anyway. With his luck he probably wasn't even getting sent on a mission or it would be some boring escort duty that even a civilian could handle. Kiba despised this listless, useless feeling more than anything. He finished dusting of his pants, sighed and set off in the direction of the Hokage tower with a pat to his thigh informing Akamaru to follow.

He arrived at the office with more haste than he figured it was worth but Tsunade had barely even acknowledged his presence. Apparently she was waiting for others to show up. Kiba wondered why he hadn't stalled even longer. He was not the world's most patient person and he hated waiting, especially when he didn't even know what or, in this case, who he was waiting for.

Eventually the sound of two very loud, very excited voices could be heard making their way down the hall and towards the office. Had the door been closed, Kiba was certain it wouldn't have made much of a difference. At least half of the village had to be in on the business of those two by now. Having exceptional canine-like hearing didn't help matters either and although he wanted to tune them out he had already learned the names of the village's three "cutest" shinobi (lucky him, huh?) although he found it puzzling to not have caught his own name in the list. Oh well, he thought as he simply shrugged off his absence. It was 'their' conversation, not like he was eavesdropping given the decibels, and he didn't really care if he didn't make 'their' list.

The excessive laughing and screaming continued, preceded by the strong odor of jasmine, until the two girls made it through the door, doing their best to suppress the excitement brought on by their gossip as a respect for the place where they were now standing.

There had been something familiar about those voices…

"Ah, Sakura, Ino, there you are!" Tsunade finally spoke up.

Kiba did his best to suppress a groan of self-pity as he turned to see the new arrivals. No way in hell was he going to go on some stupid C-level mission with the two loudest kunoichi Konoha had ever bred. What had he ever done to deserve this? For the first time in his life he realized just how lucky he had been to have Hinata and Shino as partners. Despite their constant rivalries amongst trackers, he had to appreciate that both had been rather introverted teammates. With his energy and gung-ho personality, Kiba had easily acquired the position as leader of Team 8. Neither Shino nor Hinata had even challenged him for it, although he had a slight feeling that Shino could have taken him on. Next time they got together as a team, the ramen would definitely be on him, he decided.

Tsunade continued, "Thanks for fetching Ino. You can head over to the hospital. I'll see you back here tomorrow morning."

Sakura said her respectful 'good-byes' and turned to leave but not without a knowing glance and giggle to her fellow chuunin female friend who in turn did her best to stifle her laughter.

Well at least that's one down, Kiba thought, searching for any sign of male testosterone or chakra in the air to make its way through the door as a promise of a three man cell (empahasis on the word 'man'), when to his dismay, Tsunade cleared her throat to begin the briefing. Akamaru simply sneezed.

"Inuzuka Kiba, Yamanaka Ino, I have called you here for a very important mission. It appears that a very violent and prominent band of thugs has made its way into Fire Country. They have already ravaged and pillaged several villages in neighboring River Country and have recently been spotted crossing the frontier. The Feudal Lord wants them brought to a stop now, at all cost, before they do any damage to even one of our villages. It will be your mission to locate the group again as our ANBU spy was unfortunately identified and has gone MIA, most likely terminated, but not before having sent us a general idea of their whereabouts. Kiba, you will track down the exact location of the gang. Ino, you will use your mind transfer technique to cause a division within the group so that they will lose trust amongst themselves and disperse."

"If these guys are so dangerous, shouldn't we work as a three or four man cell?" Kiba interrupted.

"You are to act from the shadows. More than two shinobi would stand out. Already a lone ANBU was enough to go detected. We are looking to reduce their numbers discretely. Once they disband from fear it is highly unlikely that they will once again pose a threat. We are not looking to annihilate the entire band. River Country is expecting one or two survivors to flee back into their territory where they will be punished on display as the monsters they are. They are willing to co-operate that far but they insist that it should not look like Fire Country is the one who brought them down- should you succeed."

Ino finally spoke, or rather whined: "But why do I have to go with Dog, uh, Kiba? I've never worked with him. At least let me work with Shikamaru or Chouji. We make a great team. There's no way this mission will be a success if I have to go with him," she motioned with her head to Kiba.

"If you have to go with me?" Kiba rebutted immediately. "Because it's a pleasure trip to get stuck with you?"

"Stuck? Stuck? What the hell does that mean? I can think of half a dozen guys right now who would like to be 'stuck' with me. She turned to the Hokage: "Isn't there another tracker? Hinata? Shino, even?" she pleaded but began to regret her words as she noticed the throbbing vein on the Hokage's temple.

Tsunade stood with a furious look on her face. She appeared to be out for blood as she slammed both fists onto her desk: "Look you two. I've carefully gone over the requirements of this mission and I'm sending you both whether you like it or not. If it were my choice your profiles wouldn't fit but that's not the case so just suck it up and accept the damn mission before I put you both on D-level missons- permanently! Have I made myself understood?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama," the ninjas before her spoke, startling themselves as they apologized in unison. They gave each other a knowing look which could have been interpreted as one of apology until each turned back to Tsunade and blurted, "But I get to be mission leader."

That was the last straw for the Hokage who didn't have the time or patience to deal with the quibblings of those two.

Ino and Kiba winced, expecting bodily harm, when they saw Tsunade move but she simply drew a deep breath and sank back down into her chair.

She placed her elbows on her desk and interlaced her fingers as if in deep thought. She spoke slowly and purposefully: "Since there is no point in wasting my breath arguing, I'll put it to you like this. You will be leaving on this mission tomorrow morning. I do not care who is mission leader but I will assure you that this mission had better be a success and that you had both better return safe and sound, without a scratch, or when you return I will be sending you both here." With that she thrust a flyer in Ino's direction.

The kunoichi's eyes grew wild as she read the paper now in her hands entitled "Tea Country 7th Semi-Annual Leadership Conference." She threw her head back in disgust as she shoved the paper towards Kiba who took it and was soon sporting his own look of disgust. Akamaru sneezed again.

Tsunade seemed rather pleased with herself however. "Good, I see that you understand." At least that had shut them up. "Here are the documents you will need to study. You're dismissed."

Ino walked back home, fuming in silence. Kiba was such a jerk. She barely even knew the guy but as soon as he had learned he was assigned to a mission with her and only her he was asking for a full team as if she couldn't pull her own weight. Just like all the others, she thought. He had quickly hit her sore spot. Well it didn't really matter because she was going to prove that she could be a great team leader and then he and his dog could feed on that thought. It was just too bad for him that she had been thinking of adding him to "the list" when she first entered Tsunade's office. He sure had changed since the Academy.

Heading in the opposite direction Kiba was nursing an ever increasing headache with fingers pressed to his skull. Why had he even bothered wishing for a mission? Hunting down a cat seemed so much more tempting than a mission with Ino. He didn't know her well, admittedly, but he knew that she was all a kunoichi shouldn't be- beautiful. Rumors abounded and he was convinced that she thought more about her looks than training. Well at least it would be easy to prove himself as team leader and he'd gain some points towards a jounin rank in this mission.

Akamaru sneezed.

"What's wrong boy?" This was no time for Akamaru to be coming down with a cold, not with a tracking mission tomorrow. Kiba wanted to ask Hana to take a look at him but she was very busy treating an outbreak of hoof-and-mouth disease at the Nara compound. Oh well, it's not like three sneezes meant too much- he hoped.


	2. Chapter 2

An ever impatient Kiba had now been waiting almost an hour for Ino to show. He'd even arrived a bit early, deciding to get geared up for this mission no matter who it was with, but mostly happy to discover that Akamaru appeared to be feeling better. 'Unbelievable,' he thought, pacing, 'and she wants to be taken seriously as a team leader.' Well that would be one strike against her, one point for him- not that he'd be keeping score.

Several times he thought to go and look for her but he wasn't sure where she lived and knew that the minute he left to find out would be the second she would show up and then he'd look like the late one.

Finally he could make out Ino's profile against the rising sun, a fine feminine form strolling in his direction. When the silhouette grew close enough, he let her have it: "What the hell? Do you know what time it is? I've been waiting here for…"

"Yeah, it's ten 'til six. What of it?" she cut him off.

"No, it's six fifty and I've been wait-…"

"Aw, did somebody forget to set his alarm clock back for daylight savings time?" she teased.

Kiba stopped, jaw open wide. Ok, admittedly, she'd gotten him there. Usually his mom or sister would remind him of those kinds of things but he wouldn't admit that to Ino.

"Well just remember for next time," she boasted, "spring forward and fall back." With that she gave him a smirk of self-satisfaction as she walked past him to exit the large wooden gate of Konoha.

As she passed he got a whiff of a rather potent perfume. There, he'd found his rebuttal: "Is that perfume you're wearing?"

"Obviously, and your point?"

"What day back at the Academy did you miss when we were learning about stealth? Anyone could smell you from a kilometer away."

"Stop exaggerating! And don't think I haven't thought about that. I make my own perfume from only natural ingredients like fresh Autumn flowers you'd smell this time of year in Fire Country. Give me some credit. Anyway, it's not like we're going to run into the enemy today. It'll have worn off by the time we reach them."

"In that case, I'm flattered; but, really, you didn't have to go out of your way this morning just so I'd notice you," he replied. It took a mere hot second to know he'd finally found the right remark to get under her collar.

Ino turned red and before stomping off barked back at him: "Just get over yourself, Kiba!"

So what if he'd missed his mark twice, it had been worth it for the final reaction. He could have patted himself on the back for that last quip as he picked up his pace to catch up with the kunoichi.

Akamaru sneezed.

XXXXX

They had been walking for hours and Akamaru's sneezing was growing worse and worse. Even his eyes were beginning to glaze over. With a full-blown cold Kiba knew that he'd be no help on the mission- if you could call it much of a mission. The poor dog had made them change direction at least eight times today. Kiba knew they were probably wandering around in circles but his nose was nowhere near as keen as that of his canine companion. It would be impossible for him to pick up the scent of the enemy from this far away even given the clothing scrap Tsunade had purposefully supplied in his mission file. Fortunately Ino had complained little. Apparently she had no sense of direction, much to Kiba's relief. Relief brought to an end when they obviously returned to the same field of flowers for the third time.

"Wait! I know we've been by here before," she proclaimed.

"What? It's just a flower patch. They all look alike." he replied, trying to cover for Akamaru.

"No, they don't look all alike. I noticed this one earlier. You can see how the buds haven't opened as much as in the other fields. Here they don't get as much sunlight because of the cliff over there," she pointed. "And you can't forget that cliff because of that weird ass boulder on top that looks like some old man's face."

"Uh, yeah, I guess," he answered, nervously scratching the back of his neck. Actually he had remarked the boulder and therefore the cliff; but the late-blooming flowers- probably not. So Ino might not have a good sense of direction but she had a good sense of orientation and placement perception. Kiba even decided to bury the battle hatchet for a moment and compliment her as such.

Ino blushed, pleased with the unexpected compliment. She nearly gushed as she went on to explain how Shikamaru had instilled in her and Chouji the importance of studying the landscape as it was an important element that could make or break a win in combat.

Kiba remembered the shadow ninja pulling off a skill something like that in the preliminary rounds of the chuunin exams. He was glad to see the pleasure she took in talking about her teammates. Maybe they'd have something to discuss over the next few days that wouldn't be a cause for argument, but some little part of him was slightly annoyed by her happiness when he found himself wondering what her teammates meant to her and exactly on what level. This wasn't the sort of thing he should even care to know about. It wasn't really any of his business but he had caught a sparkle in her eyes. He doubted that Hinata's eyes did that when she mentioned him or Shino, for Naruto, yeah, but never them. A larger part of him was more jealous of the apparent teamwork those three had, perhaps slightly more so than any 'inclinations.' He was beginning to feel that Team 8 had never had that kind of bond and he wondered why there had never been any cohesion. A really good team leader would know how to bring his/her group together no matter how different they were and Team 10 was definitely made of a strange mix-up. He knew that Ino had started out as their leader. She was always up front in the line-ups, sometimes placed next to him, when the teams had to stand at attention during important briefings. He wasn't quite sure where she stood now that Team 10 had all but disbanded after Asuma's death but apparently she did have pretty powerful leadership abilities to have kept her motley crew together for the time she had. What of Team 8; the team he was 'maybe' captain of? At times even he couldn't be sure anymore. At least everyone on his team was a tracker. They had that much in common but the real ties stopped there. Sure they cared about each other's well-being and they would get together over a meal from time to time but there was no penetrating Shino's hard outer carapace and Hinata was a Hyuuga- enough said.

Ino broke Kiba from his reflections: "Hello. For the last time, where are we going?"

"I'm not really sure. Akamaru's not feeling too good. I don't think he's picking up the scent."

"And you're just now telling me that?" she squealed.

"Look, he was fine this morning. You can't blame him for catching a cold!"

"Alright, alright. Then let's just make camp and we'll worry about a plan of action tomorrow," she suggested. I'm beat anyway after turning in circles all day. Hopefully Akamaru will feel better tomorrow, right boy?" she rubbed his head.

Kiba had to admit he was surprised. She didn't seem to be blaming the dog like he thought she would, given her rather explosive personality, until she snipped: "But you had better start thinking of a way for us to find our target!" No, Akamaru was safe from her wrath- just not him.

XXXXX

Kiba awoke to the sound of continuous sneezing. Apparently Akamaru was not any better. He sighed as he sat up, wiping the sleep from his eyes.

To his surprise he found Ino already awake, sitting next to the large dog who she was rubbing tenderly while examining what was apparently a map in her other hand, as she kept turning the paper in all directions with a puzzled frown plastered to her face. He wouldn't have taken her for an early riser. Girls always talked about needing their 'beauty sleep' and they had both crashed as soon as their regulation blankets had been thrown out of their respective bags. They hadn't even bothered to make a fire or eat dinner. Then maybe he was waking up late. Who knew what the hell time it was now with all this daylight savings crap. It was enough to throw off a man's natural sleeping and waking instincts. Yes, that was surely the reason he'd overslept.

Another quick yawn and he was on his feet. Ino looked up and quickly diverted her eyes, her reddened cheeks apparent even from his distance. A rather pleased smirk crossed over his lips, hidden only by the shirt he quickly grabbed up and pulled over his head and muscular torso before going over to sit beside her and Akamaru. He was pleased to learn that he didn't leave her completely indifferent.

"So watcha reading?"

"A map, idiot. I'm looking for a way to figure out where we might be heading," she replied, still trying to set the map in the proper direction. "I hope you've been coming up with a game plan."

"Well yeah." Ok, not really but he answered with what made the most sense: "We know these guys just entered into Fire Country from River Country so we should make our way to the border.

"Isn't that what we've been doing?"

"Well not really. I was just following Akamaru," he smiled hoping to appease her enough to avoid her from giving him a sharp blow to the arm.

It was a cute smile with the little exposed fang but Ino was not about to succumb. "So now we have no idea where we are. Just great!"

"Well if you'd let me take a look at the map…"

"Get your own", she cut him off.

"I didn't bring one," he admitted.

"You mean you left on a mission without a map?"

"Never need one. Not with Akamaru. I've never seen him sick like this out on a mission." He looked over worriedly at his canine companion. "Of course," he retorted, grabbing the map from her hands with a quick flash, "it doesn't serve for much if you don't know how to read it!"

Ino reached to grab the paper back, but quickly changed her mind and chose to fold her arms with a heavy pout instead, knowing that it would probably be better in Kiba's hands. She had paid attention in stealth class, but cartography lessons? Bo-ring!

"Well which do you want first- the good news or the bad news?" Kiba asked, looking up from the map.

"Agh," Ino replied with disgust. "Good news first, I guess."

"We have been traveling in the general direction towards River Country so we're not necessarily off course, just a bit delayed."

"And the bad?"

"Take a look at the sky," he encouraged, raising his eyes to the odd colored clouds.

"Shit," thought Ino. Red skys in the morning meant they'd have rain by late afternoon. "We'd better get moving."

Breakfast was a ration bar as they sped to pack up their blankets and any loose articles. Within minutes, they were on their way, in the 'general' right direction.


	3. Chapter 3

They had made good time and were quite near the frontier between Fire and River Country. Thanks to the map, Kiba had made what he thought to be a good prediction for the whereabouts of the group they were hunting. The gangsters wouldn't want to remain exposed on open ground but would need to camp near a food and water supply. He also took into account the location of the last village that had been hit before they crossed the border as well as that of the nearest possible target. Combining all of these elements he generated a circle with a radius covering about ten kilometers in any direction. The thugs should be within that perimeter and it was small enough that even he would be able to detect them through odor and the tell tale signs of their movements using basic tracking techniques without the aid of Akamaru who seemed to be suffering more and more by the minute.

By late afternoon they had nearly made it to the edge of the zone when dark menacing clouds began their deluge. There was no point in trying to go any further. They would have to take cover.

Fortunately, as the downpour began, they were not too far from one of the many shelters set up all throughout the nation. Shinobi had to be prepared for any and all eventualities. Every day did not come with weather clement enough to sleep beneath the stars and so a series of caves on both high and low ground had been constructed over the years. Here, in an area dominated by cliffs, there was a small cave that had been cut into the rocks. Hermits and other civilians needing low level work were paid a measly sum to keep these temporary lodgings ready in case they needed to be used. This meant there was firewood, standard rations and medical supplies on hand every few kilometers even when there wasn't a village nearby.

Never had Ino been more grateful for one of these makeshift abodes than now as she entered the dry albeit it drafty shelter, soaked to the bone.

Akamaru sneezed. At this rate she knew that she'd be next.

"Looks like we made it just in time," Kiba said, viciously rubbing the water out of his damp hair with his hands so that the loose drops would stop falling on his face.

"W-well not s-soon en-nough," she replied through chattering teeth, as the goosebumps began to creep up her arms.

"I'll get a fire going. You'd better get dried off before you start sneezing like poor Akamaru. I don't need both of you sick."

Ino went to look for the small stack of clean blankets she knew would be stored with the first-aid equipment. She began to unbutton her top when she remembered the company she was keeping and thought it best to recess to the shadows to change.

Kiba busied himself to make a fire, gathering a small pile of branches from the wood left there for that very purpose. He made every attempt to look as concentrated as possible on the task at hand. There was no way he was going to glance over at a clothes changing Ino. She was doing her best to be discreet and it wasn't like he hadn't seen enough nude female bodies to keep him happy for a lifetime. There was no reason to check this one out. Nope he wasn't going to look… no, no, not at all… . Oh, damn, peripherial vision! Ok, at least he hadn't caught any bits face on. But then, shit, why had he been cursed with excellent nocturnal sight? He was trying so hard to be a gentleman but it was becoming really, really difficult. Here he was in a situation that fantasies were made of: alone in a cave with a hot girl, a hot girl who was just meters away, a hot girl who was soaked to the core and changing her clothes at present just meters away…

"You still haven't gotten that fire going?" Ino complained, startling the dog ninja back from his reverie.

"Yeah, yeah just a sec," and within a matter of seconds he had a fire going below the specially engineered chimney that allowed shinobi to keep warm in these makeshift dwellings without dying from smoke inhalation.

In the firelight, Kiba discovered Ino in her new, dry attire, wrapped tightly in a blanket for added warmth. He probably should have changed too but the discomforts of getting caught in a rain shower were not something that really bothered him. He quite enjoyed the hassles of the outdoors and "roughing it." They reminded him of being alive.

Ino sat down beside him in front of the blazing fire. She tilted her head with an expression of 'aren't you going to change too?' which he answered by reassuring her with a wink that the fire would do the trick. She simply sighed, drawing her knees up to her chin to hold them in a depressed hug, not quite understanding the dog ninja but deciding that it wasn't worth pursuing; she felt too drained to really care. Between a sick Akamaru, getting lost and then stuck in the rain, this mission was turning from miserable to disastrous. It seemed that everything, even the elements, was against them. She could already sense that they were going to fail and then she'd have to go to that stupid leadership conference Tsunade had threatened them with.

Kiba read the sadness in her body language. He reached up to brush the long bang falling over her face behind her ear, so that he could see her expression. His hand lingered a second too long and he found himself pulling it back quickly as she turned to look over at him, surprised by the affectionate gesture.

"Hey, don't look so glum. We'll be back on our way tomorrow once the rain stops. We'll get this mission over quickly, report to Tsunade, make her regret ever doubting us and then I'll be out of your hair. Promise," he faked a supportive smirk.

"It's not like that Kiba. It's not you; it's just…I don't need another failed mission. You know I always thought I was or wanted to be the leader of Team 10. I always thought I was the only one who'd ever amount to anything, what with that slacker Shikamaru and Chouji who spends all day snacking or thinking about his next meal; but I have so many failures on my record that I sometimes wonder why I'm even still doing this. If we fail this mission I don't think I'll even report in to Tsunade unless it's to turn in my hitaite. It seems the only missions we ever did accomplish were thanks to Shikamaru's brain power. He was always the real team captain. I was just the substitute until he decided to get up off of his lazy ass and react. To be honest, back in Tsunade's office, I just didn't want to lose face when I realized you didn't want to get stuck with a partner like me. That's why I called dibs as mission leader but apparently you're better placed than me. At least you can read a map," she finished with a little snort of disgust.

Kiba was floored. Yeah, she was looking down but he didn't think it would be to the point of this kind of self-loathing confession although he was pleased to learn that she didn't seem to be holding any grudges against him. How to react though? This was a scene that needed Hinata. She'd know what kind of girl stuff needed to be said to make her feel better. This was unchartered territory for Kiba, and so he did the only thing he knew how to do- change the subject. Maybe he'd learn some valuable information along the way now that she was in confession mode, but it would probably require a dose of humor.

"So how is old Shikamaru anyway? I don't run into him much anymore. I think Tsunade's got him locked up in that tower of hers, draining all of that incredible brain power. She must have him hooked up to some kind of machine."

Ino gave off a small laugh. That was kind of the truth, at least from the way Shikamaru had described it to her and Chouji the last time they had gotten together for barbecue, but that felt like ages ago. "Actually I haven't seen Shikamaru in weeks myself. You know he just made jounin so he doesn't have much time for us lower class nin I guess." Her eyes fell to look down at the cave floor.

Kiba thought he had heard a similar rumor but Shikamaru wouldn't have been the kind to go around announcing it to everyone. Kiba knew that the day he'd make jounin, unlike the shadow user, he'd be throwing the biggest, loudest party that the village ever saw. If he made the rank of course, and a small wave of jealousy washed down his spine. "That's really great. Be sure to congratulate him for me the next time you see him."

"You can probably do it yourself. You're sure to run into him before I do," she replied.

"That's funny. I always thought you guys were dating," he attempted, not quite truthfully but curious to hear her answer.

"What? Really? Why does everybody think that?"

Kiba contained a sigh of relief.

She continued: "Everyone always thought we acted like an old married couple. I guess because I was always having to give him a kick in the behind to get him to do anything. He's a really great guy, just like Chouji, but it would be too weird to cross 'that' line with him, either of them for that matter. You know what I mean, right? Like for you and Hinata… ."

He did know. He wasn't sure that there was a female he loved more on this planet, after Hana and his mother, than Hinata, but it definitely wasn't a romantic love. "Yeah, I definitely get what you're saying. Not that it would matter anyway. She's been in love with Naruto since forever," he smirked, thinking of his smitten teammate.

"What?!? Hinata's in love with Naruto?" she exclaimed.

"Yeah, you didn't know that?" Kiba rubbed at his ears which were almost ringing from the reverberations of her scream in these close quarters. He had always assumed it was common knowledge having seen Hinata turn red and faint over the years every time the orange clad ninja showed his face. He went on to explain how he and Shino had tried their best to catch her in time on numerous occasions but there had still been many mishaps where she'd landed flat on her ass.

Ino couldn't help but burst out laughing, imagining the scene. "Come on Kiba, tell me everything. So when did you first notice that she would get all blushy?" She turned to face him, intrigued with his story. All hints of her previous sadness had left her features and she almost seemed like her usual bubbly self.

He was happy to have helped her forget her pain, even if only momentarily, and he broke into the fully detailed story of every incident he could remember involving Hinata and Naruto.

Ino was like a child in a candy store. She couldn't wait to get back to Konoha to tell Sakura all the juicy details. Obviously even her pink haired friend hadn't picked up on this little morsel because there was no way she would have, or could have, kept it from her.

Her wide, happy eyes sparkled and he found it quite easy and fun to talk to the kunoichi. It was actually a nice change to find himself on a mission with someone who obviously enjoyed talking with and listening to him this much. Shino and Hinata were always so withdrawn.

When he ran out of tidbits to share about the Hyuuga heir he offered to heat up some rations over the fire and all throughout dinner and late into the night they continued to recount different fun and sometimes not so fun moments from their respective missions.

Hours had passed when a silent pause made them realize it was quite late. They had been carrying on and laughing so hard that they hadn't even seen the hours tick by. Kiba had had more than enough time to dry off. They would have a long day before them and they would need to get some sleep if they wanted to finally get this mission on the way.

They set about preparing their blankets when Ino stopped and spoke. "Do you hear that?"

"Hear, what?"

"That's just it. Akamaru's stopped sneezing. Isn't that great?"

That was good news, Kiba thought as he settled under his blanket, a smile of contentment glued to his lips. In fact, this whole mission was starting to go well. Ino was a lot of fun to be around once you got to know her and he realized they had much in common. It was rather nice to have a fellow shinobi to talk to. At least they were on the same wave length, unlike the civilian girls he'd pick up for an evening. The attractive packaging was just an additional bonus. Having spent the evening absorbed in her words, her smile and the amazing glow of her skin as it reflected the light of the fire, he knew he'd be a fool to even try to ignore it. For the first time in his life Kiba found himself thinking of a girl as a possible keeper; but why was he thinking that already? They were just friends and their friendship had only really just started to take off- no point in jumping ahead of himself and setting himself up for a letdown. That wasn't his style. Well even as just her friend the least he could do was to help her out. There was no way he would let her give up being a kunoichi. With that last thought he resolved himself to doing everything in his power to make this mission a success and to save Ino's career and what could possibly be their future.


	4. Chapter 4

Ino woke the next morning in the best of moods. She rose and walked to the cave entrance to check the weather. It was still foggy and damp but it already appeared that the low lying clouds would lift and give way to a reasonably pleasant day.

She stood there, stretching lazily, when she noticed the butterflies flitting nervously around in her stomach as she thought back to her moment spent with Kiba the night before. No, there was no way she could be feeling like this for the dog boy. She smacked her hands into her face and pulled back her hair as she took in a long breath to calm her thoughts. Get a grip of yourself, Ino, she thought. You're not a little school girl who gets giddy every time a cute guy gives you the time of day anymore. So you spent a fun evening chatting with another shinobi. What's so special about that? Nothing could be more natural; but then she didn't know any other shinobi with that same fanged smile that had caused her heart to skip many a beat that evening. It was quite addictive and had done the job melting away her fears and apprehensions and even now she found it hard to contain a happy smirk from forming on her lips.

She turned round to notice Kiba rising in turn, feeling thankful that he had kept his shirt on this time. She really didn't need any more crazy thoughts distracting her now. They were on a mission after all and from here on out it was going to get serious. She didn't need to remind herself that an ANBU spy had died tracking this same group.

"Good morning," he spoke walking over to greet her. "You seem happier than yesterday."

"Yeah, thanks for cheering me up. You're a real morale booster for the troops- all of us apparently" she replied, motioning over to Akamaru who was sitting up and wagging his tail. He even gave a little bark to indicate that he was doing much better. "Just like a real mission leader should be," she added softly to herself, but Kiba's keen hearing didn't miss the compliment which was doing wonders for his ego.

He bent down to greet the large dog and gave him an affectionate rub behind the ears. Akamaru was definitely doing better, not completely recovered, but he would be able to help them somewhat over the next few days.

They ate quickly and packed, hoping to locate the gang that day.

They set off into the zone that Kiba had selected the day before. They were not yet a kilometer in when even he could pick up a scent reminiscent of the cloth scrap lead they had to go by. Fortunately, groups of testosterone driven men were rather easy to discern and the low lying clouds trapped the hints of their presence low to the ground.

Once the exact location of the enemy's whereabouts had been determined and following a few hours of observation from the shadows, the threesome left silently to go about setting up their own camp. They spent the rest of the afternoon discussing their plan of action which would begin after early nightfall.

It was a simple plan which they finally devised. After dark they would lay in hiding until one of the men wandered out of the camp alone. Ino would take over the gangster's body and wreak havoc on as many sleeping thugs or wary stragglers as possible before performing a quick brain scramble with the last of her jutsu turning the perpetrator into a bumbling ball of flesh incapable of recognizing or explaining what he had done. Should she get caught then she would release her technique and the culprit would certainly be eliminated by the group, having been caught redhanded. After just a few nights of this they would be likely to disband, perplex as to the curse that was befalling them, each fearing to become its next victim.

Kiba had helped to elaborate the plan but he wasn't very happy being reduced to a glorified bodyguard. He preferred taking part in the action but Tsunade had insisted on the use of stealth and his techniques were all far from discreet. However he understood the danger Ino faced if anyone stumbled casually upon her soulless body and knew that he really couldn't play any other role than insure her security and the success of the mission. Sitting by and waiting was just something that he'd have to accept. This would be Ino's time to shine but he realized that it was probably for the best if there was to be any hope of her regaining a bit of self confidence and relinquishing any silly ideas about giving up on being a kunoichi.

They took their stakeout place behind the bushes and waited for their first victim. Ino glanced over at Kiba and gave him the sign that she was going to make her move. She stood quickly, caught the man within the view of her rectangular handsign and spoke: "Shintenshin no jutsu."

A second later her body slumped over and she fell with a tremendous thud onto the cold, hard ground.

'Oh, shit, that had to hurt,' Kiba thought until, 'oh, man, maybe I was supposed to catch her,' he realized. Ino would be coming to with some rather bad cuts and bruises and he figured there'd be hell to pay.

Oblivious to what had happened on the other side of the shrubbery, the kunoichi set about around the campsite picking off various unwary members who had the mischance to find themselves alone. After just fifteen minutes, when she knew that she could no longer hold the jutsu she used the last of her chakra to turn her present vessel's brain into mush before scurrying back to her own body.

As she returned to her body, the pain in her left arm, hip and cheek was immediate. For a second she feared that she had been or was in the process of being attacked until her vision cleared from an initial blur to see Kiba sitting on his knees with a befuddled look on his face.

She made her way to her elbows and sat up. She had to bite her cheek to keep from yelling at the dog nin. Once she had made it to her feet she stomped as quietly as she could back to their campsite.

Back in the security of their present turf, Kiba attempted to explain before she would have a chance to bite his head off but she quickly cut him off.

"How in the hell could you let me fall like that? Look at my arm. It's all bruised up."

"I-I'm sorry Ino. Really I am. I knew you were going to be leaving your body and all and that I'd have to watch it but I didn't know you'd fall like that," he apologized.

"Even when we were just genin, Shikamaru never once let me fall like that," she continued.

"Well he was trained to work with you. How was I supposed to know how your jutsu really works? Have I ever even seen you do a mind transfer before?"

She had to admit that the only time he might have seen would have been during the preliminary rounds of the chuunin exams and for her attack on Sakura she had been seated- exceptionally. Perhaps he wasn't completely to blame. She had insisted so much on the fact that she would be vulnerable and how it was essential that he stay by her side that she hadn't really explained that she would drop to the ground- and hard.

"Ok, I guess I should have explained better; but now you've seen, so please tomorrow, promise that you'll catch me, alright?"

"Promise. Friends?" he offered his hand in reconciliation.

"Friends," she smiled, accepting his hand to let him know that he was off the hook for the time being.

After releasing his grasp, she removed her arm guards and set to studying the damage on her left upper limb. Several large dark purplish and blue spots now lined her flesh, coupled by scrapes where the arm protectors hadn't reached.

"Look, I'll help you. It's the least I can do," he suggested as he went to look for a small vial of ointment which he always carried in his bag. It was a special Hyuuga concoction that Hinata insisted he and Shino carry with them on all missions."

"You're not going to lick my wounds are you?" she half joked, not really sure herself if it was meant to be a provocation or a real inquiry. He was a dog ninja.

"Ha, ha, very funny," he replied dryly, "like I haven't heard that one before. Trust me there isn't a dog joke you can come up with that someone hasn't used on me before." He took her arm gingerly and began rubbing a small glob of the medicine onto the superficial wound.

Ino noticed that his eyes had darkened a shade after his last comment, as she watched him set about playing nurse.

"And does that bother you?'

"What bother me?"

"You know, that everyone compares you to a dog?"

He sighed. "When I was younger it used to get to me and I got into a lot of fights, but all that sparring must be what toughened me up. Then I got older and I realized that the company of dogs is sometimes better than that of most people."

Ino gave a nod of understanding. She if anyone knew how cruel people could be. Even if she had always been cute and popular, she knew all too well that the compliments were only to her face and that once her back was turned most of her so called friends took pleasure in putting her down, pointing out her weaknesses. She would have liked to think that she had grown over it, like Kiba obviously had, but she still took the comments of others too much to heart and was quick to doubt herself especially when it came to her skills as a ninja.

"There, all better," he said, rubbing the last bit of cream over her arm.

As he began to remove his hand, Ino reached for it to take it in hers.

"I'm sorry about what I said Kiba. I didn't mean it like that. I just didn't know if…"

"It's no big deal. Trust me. It's like earlier. I don't really know all your ways and techniques and you don't know mine. You were just asking out of curiosity. I understand." She had let go of his hand now that matters were clear between them; but he couldn't help adding, "Anyways, if you're ever in doubt, I'm always more than willing to prove to you that I'm all man," and he finished with a wink.

Coming from anyone else, Ino would have punched a bruise into the speaker's arm large enough to make hers look like freckles in comparison but he was wearing that damn charming smile again and she knew that he was just being his usual joking self. She mustered up a 'Kiba, don't even go there' response but found it less than convincing as it was accompanied by a large, almost nervous, smile.

"I was just kidding," he reassured her, just in case, but knowing that deep inside that was definitely a lie.

XXXXX

The next evening they didn't set out until after midnight. They knew that the remaining gangsters would be on high alert after discovering the bodies of their fallen comrades although their immediate suspicions should have turned to the man who was now nothing more than a bumbling idiot. He would have been detained or executed by now.

This time Ino would pick her victims off in their sleep.

Once again hiding behind the bushes, she awaited a late straggler, stood and performed her jutsu. Her body slumped but this time Kiba was careful to catch her as she fell gracefully into his arms. Although she was limp and unconscious he found that she felt soft and warm. He cradled her close and soon realized that he was staring at the kunoichi, but was still unable to lift his gaze. He had never been this close to her before. From this distance he was able to study her features, nearly perfect and flawless in the moonlight. Her lips were plush and rosy, the kind that begged to be kissed. It took almost all of his force to resist leaning forward and stealing one from her unknowing lips. An uncharacteristic 'Hinata type' blush washed over his face. In fact his whole body was beginning to feel uncomfortably hot when Ino's body stirred.

The sudden movement brought the dog nin out of his reverie and before he knew what he had done he had dropped her to the ground in a reflex of embarrassment. He knew that he was supposed to be watching over her but didn't know if holding her like that would be considered appropriate, especially given the thoughts that had started to invade his mind.

Ino awoke to a massive headache and reached back to discover a large knot on the back of her skull as she sat up slowly.

She looked over to find Kiba sitting much like the evening before but this time she read more guilt than bewilderment in the look on his face. 'Not surprising, he should feel guilty,' she thought. How in the hell could he let her fall a second time?

It was a scene of déjà vu as she stormed off in the direction of their campsite only this time when they arrived and Kiba started in to apologize she cut him off with a look that could have turned his blood to ice if he had let it. He braced for her onslaught but she didn't speak a word to him. Now he knew she was deeply pissed.

He went to get the ointment from his bag and was going to offer to help when she snatched it from his hands and exclaimed: "I think you've done enough already! I might as well be doing this damn mission alone!"

Even she was surprised by how much her words cut but then she had a killer headache and wasn't in the mood to care to hear what had gone wrong this time. Besides it was very late and she just wanted to sleep the pain off.

Kiba was almost grateful that Ino didn't want to talk. How the hell could he explain that he had dropped her because of the not too innocent thoughts that were running through his brain when she came to? He couldn't think of a good lie to use as an excuse; maybe if he thought about it for awhile before falling asleep he'd come up with some kind of believable story but for the moment he couldn't concentrate very well. He just kept thinking to himself how it felt to be the world's biggest moron.

XXXXX

Ino was only barely speaking to Kiba early next morning. She was telling him the essentials but nothing more. 'She sure can hold a grudge,' he thought; but somehow he couldn't really blame her.

They went to look for signs that their target group had begun dispersing and evidently they had. Some of the men only needed two incidents to decide that they were being plagued by a disease that could hit anyone at anytime. Every member had become a suspected threat and there was no one to trust, possibly not even oneself. The first group of traitors had packed hastily and fled at dawn in various directions doing little to cover their tracks as they hightailed it back into River Country. Ino and Kiba felt that with just one more night of work, they would all take the hint.

As they continued surveying they came upon a large patch of heleniums. Immediately, Akamaru began sneezing uncontrollably. Kiba looked concerned but didn't know how to approach the dog caught in a full-blown sneeze attack.

That's when it hit Ino. Akamaru had never been sick. He was allergic to helenium flowers, otherwise known as sneezeweed and one of the basic ingredients in the perfume she had been wearing the day they left the village. Why hadn't she made the correlation earlier? He had only gotten better when she got soaked in the rainstorm. It would have been so easy to concoct a remedy.

"Kiba, it's just the flowers. Get him out of here and back to camp. I'll be right there once I've collected-," but she was cut off by the most pitiful yelp she had ever heard. The noise stung at her heart as she watched Akamaru jolt in pain and take just a few steps forward before falling to the ground.

"Oh my god! Akamaru!" Kiba screamed.

Ino ran to kneel next to the boy by the dog's side.

"I saw it, Ino. He was just bitten by a snake. What the hell are we gonna do?" There was panic in his voice. All at once his faithful companion had been hit with new sneezes and in a moment of inattention had backed into a highly venomous serpent and here they were kilometers away from help. If Akamaru didn't receive immediate medical attention he would die.

Ino had to make a decision. She had some medical skills but she worked on humans. Reviving dead fish was hardly what you would call the training necessary to treat a large dog; but she did know emergency treatment for snakebites. Well, it was worth a try and there was no other hope for saving Akamaru's life. When she looked over to see tears brimming in Kiba's eyes she found the determination she needed and she announced that she would do her best to treat the canine.

She caught a glimmer of hope on the boy's face and set to pushing the poison down and away from the dog's heart with a field of green chakra that coated her palms. It was a very tricky maneuver, separating the venom from the blood, but with much concentration she was able to distinguish the differing consistencies of the two liquids and eventually succeeded in drawing out the first bit of the venom through the puncture wounds themselves.

It took nearly an hour of labor until there were no more distinguishable signs of poison in the dog's system. His breathing had returned to normal; he was out of danger but the question of what to do next still remained.

Ino wiped the sweat from her brow with the back of her hand. "Kiba we have to get Akamaru home."

"Is he g-gonna…," he paused unable to pronounce the fatal word.

"No, he's out of danger for now but I'd still feel better if he saw a vet. Without an antidote he'll remain weak and the sooner he gets one, the sooner he'll recover."

"But you know that means we have to end the mission. It's going to go down as a failure."

She sighed. "I know Kiba but getting Akamaru tended to is more important than that right now and anyway I'm out of chakra; I'll be useless tonight. We won't be able to strike again until tomorrow night. That's just too long to wait. If we leave now at full speed through the trees then we can be back in Konoha by early evening."

If Kiba hadn't cried up until then he didn't know what force was holding back the flood gates now. He couldn't believe that Ino was willing to sacrifice the mission just for Akamaru. So many others would have found the dog expendable, but she hadn't. He would be forever grateful.

"The only problem is I don't think Akamaru is in any condition to travel," she continued.

"Leave that to me," he said and after a few swift hand signals he performed a 'jujin bunshin' and scooped up his clone to carry piggyback.

They raced back to their campsite, but not before Ino grabbed a small bouquet of heleniums which she shoved into her pouch. They quickly collected their belongings and dashed off into the trees, making record time back to Konoha.


	5. Chapter 5

Kiba, Ino and Akamaru (in Kiba form) made their way through the gate of Konoha. It had been a grueling journey what with Kiba carrying Akamaru the entire distance and Ino low on chakra; yet Ino somehow regretted being home. She nonetheless decided that there was no point in putting off the inevitable and announced that she would be the one to report in to Tsunade while Kiba took Akamaru to see Hana at the veterinary clinic straight away. He promised to meet her at the Hokage tower as soon as possible, offering to face the woman's anger as a united pair.

Ino nodded but made no effort at haste now that she was back in the village. She knew that she had made the right decision in choosing to give up the mission but wasn't so sure that Tsunade would see it that way. Would this be the end of her career? She sighed and shuffled her feet, regretting the moment she would set foot in the office.

Kiba, on the other hand, went as quickly as possible to the Inuzuka compound. He was relieved to find his sister working overtime in the clinic just behind their house.

After a quick check-up and Kiba's description of the snake, she knew that the dog's days were not in danger. She had the correct anti-venom and thanks to the excellent emergency treatment he had received immediately following the bite, she found that there was no reason to believe he wouldn't be his old self within a day or two.

Kiba's heart leapt at the news.

"Why don't you just go and relax," Hana suggested. "You look beat and you can come back and visit Akamaru tomorrow."

Kiba beamed as he spun his sister around in a dance step followed by a low dip as a wave of excitement invaded every pore of his being. Akamaru was going to be alright! This was a reason to celebrate and that's when an idea struck him. "I'd better get going then," he said with an elated smile as he sat his surprised older sibling back on her feet.

"Where are you off to so happily?" she looked after him questioningly.

"Gotta check in with the Hokage," he shouted over his shoulder as he sped out of the clinic. He needed to hurry if he was going to make the meeting in time and ask Ino if she… but having caught sight of his reflection in a mirror decided he'd chance a quick shower. No, he certainly didn't want to look scruffy when he asked Ino out that evening. Ok, maybe he couldn't really call it 'out,' as in 'on a date,' but did know that he wanted to invite her to the top ramen bar in Konoha once they left Tsunade's office. It was the least he could do to thank her for saving Akamaru. It would lift her spirits if Tsunade decided to give her hell and if it qualified at all as a date, then, well, all the better.

Following his quickest shower ever and a change of fresh clothes, Kiba bolted down the steps practically sending his mother falling.

"Hey, slow down there!" she ordered.

"Can't, I'm on my way to see Tsunade about the mission. Don't wait up for me," he finished as he slammed the front door behind him.

Tsume just shook her head wondering when he'd ever showered before checking in after a mission and since when did she wait up for him to go see Lady Tsunade? The boy was definitely up to something.

XXXXX

Ino lingered so long before going to see the Hokage that she didn't make it there much before Kiba, but before he arrived she explained the circumstances behind why they had called off the mission and began apologizing for her failure before Tsunade had a chance to get a word in edgewise. She was halfway through a rant as to why she was unworthy of wearing the hitai-ite when Tsunade broke in: "Ino, that's enough! Now listen! I received message, just before you arrived, from the Lord of River Country and it appears that they caught two of the bandits attempting to flee back over the border. Now that's not many and the group does not appear to have completely disbanded but this mission was commissioned by the leaders of that country. They simply needed a couple of bad guys captured and put on public display to prove that they are in control of the situation. They could not continue their chase once the group had entered into Fire territory. Soon they will have enough information out of the two they caught to create an official, international wanted list and our own shinobi will have the authority to openly hunt any of these men should they dare to remain within our borders. It is just a matter of time before they are brought down. Your job was not to dismantle the entire group. There are diplomatic workings behind these sorts of actions which I won't even begin to go into with you. The point is- they caught two, thanks to your work, and so the mission goes down as a success."

Ino could have jumped for joy. She could barely believe what she was hearing. "Oh, thank you, Lady Tsunade."

"So tell me. How did things go between you and Kiba? I have to admit I'm surprised that you two didn't end up killing each other," the Hokage continued as she prepared the mission documents for stamping.

"Actually Kiba's not so bad once you get to know him. He's actually kind of…," she trailed off realizing that she probably shouldn't reveal what was happening in her heart just yet and definitely not in front of Tsunade and Shizune, who was also present; but her speechlessness raised the attention of the Konoha leader who looked up just in time to catch a blush spreading across the younger kunoichi's face and couldn't help sporting a knowing smirk herself.

Ino jumped at the woman's glance and spoke quickly to divert her attention. "Did I tell you that he let me fall both times when I performed my jutsu? Look at my arm. I'm covered in bruises!"

"Well then that changes everything!" Tsunade announced suddenly, after a few second's thought. "I told you both before you left that I expected you to return unharmed, without a single scratch."

"B-but…"

"No, no 'buts.' I believe I made myself quite clear then and I don't want to hear who was mission leader or who is to blame. Obviously you didn't return unscathed and now that I think about it, neither did Akamaru. You and Inuzuka Kiba will be attending the leadership conference. You are to leave out in two days. I will send word this evening of your enrollment so that they will be expecting you. Until your return, and until I see that you have both improved your teamwork, I will not be stamping off on the success of your last mission and that is my final decision!"

Ino felt her jaw drop.

Kiba was finally making his way to the office and was about to step in when he heard Ino speak: "That is so unfair. How can you say the mission is a success on one hand and then still force me to go with Kiba to some stupid conference?"

She had said many words but it was the 'force me to go with Kiba' part that rang in the dog nin's ears, louder and clearer than any bell. So Lady Tsunade wasn't holding their early retreat against them but Ino was arguing with all her might against 'getting stuck' with him again.

His wall of happiness came crashing down as he realized that he had actually been dumb enough to believe in something that was not going to happen. Never had he let himself get caught up emotionally like this before and with good reason, because just when you let your guard down, just when you thought this girl could be someone different, someone special, it was only to get hurt.

Well he didn't need this, he didn't want this and he didn't want her. There wasn't even any point in showing his face; he knew the Hokage's decision as well as Ino's and that's all he needed to know. He went to exit the building and straight on to one of his favorite hangouts where he knew rejection would feel like a thing of the past.

Ino soon realized that arguing with the Hokage was only asking for trouble and she resigned herself to her plight. It wasn't that a leadership conference would be such a bad thing. It was in the best vacation town in Tea Country. She had recognized the name of the city on the flyer from before. There were great restaurants and excellent shopping and spending more time with Kiba in a non-mission context would be fun; but it had been the principle of the matter that bothered her most. Why wouldn't Tsunade just sign off on the success of the mission; but then why hadn't she kept her big mouth shut about the bruises?

That's when she remembered the heleniums in her pouch. "Ok, we'll go to the conference."

"Good, I'm glad to finally hear that you're seeing reason. I'll let you inform Kiba yourself. You're dismissed."

Ino breathed a sigh of relief as she exited the building. It was starting to get late and she needed to head over to the Inuzuka compound. She hoped that the clinic hadn't already closed. Kiba hadn't shown up. This had to be a bad sign for Akamaru and she needed to know just how the large dog was doing.

XXXXX

Back in the Hokage's office, Shizune was questioning Tsunade. "Did you see that blush on Ino's face when you asked about Kiba?"

"Of course I did, Shizune. I am the Hokage after all and I was once that age you know."

"But did you look at the dates on both of these flyers? There isn't…"

"I know," she cut her assistant off.

"And you're still going to…"

"Yes, Shizune."

"You wouldn't…"

"Done," she said handing Shizune a freshly signed document. "Take this letter to the messenger bird corps. It needs to arrive by tomorrow afternoon."

The assistant took the letter, noting the devilish look on her boss' face.

"Trust me, Shizune. I know what I'm doing."

XXXXX

Ino was pleased to find the veterinary clinic still open as she introduced herself to Hana who let her in.

The young veterinarian immediately recognized the name as the one Kiba had mentioned when he brought Akamaru in earlier. She informed her that the dog was doing well but enjoying some well-deserved rest and then praised Ino's work in saving the dog's life although Ino admitted to never having worked on an animal before.

Kiba's sister explained that with all the work she had been doing on the Nara compound for the deer that she had fallen behind at the clinic and had many animals, mostly dogs, to tend to still that evening. She didn't have time to play hostess but Ino was free to wait until Akamaru woke up, perhaps in a bit, if she wanted to hang around.

Ino told her about the dog's allergy and asked if she could use some products on hand to whip up an antihistaminic potion that she knew worked well on people.

Hana thought that would be a good idea and Ino set about concocting an allergy remedy there in the clinic.

When she had finished, Akamaru was still asleep so she visited with some of the animals.

Most of the dogs were normal sized pets but one very, large, very haggard looking nin dog caught her attention.

"Be careful, Ino," Hana warned. "Unari isn't an easy dog to deal with. I still haven't gotten him to co-operate for the x-rays so I'm just keeping him on pain medication until he decides to calm down and not bite; but even those are doing little to weaken his spirit."

Ino had to admit that the dog had a rather wild look in his eyes and although she felt it was probably best to not keep eye contact, she couldn't help but notice a glimmer of helplessness, like he wanted to be relieved of his pain but didn't want to let down his guard just yet. If only she could know what was really going on in his mind; and that's when she realized that it just might be possible.

Ino pulled up a chair in front of the cage and sat herself down. She didn't want to fall flat on her face in the vet clinic. She performed some familiar hand signs and the next thing she knew was inside of the nin dog's mind.

She could not hold the jutsu for very long as the animal was in great pain but she lingered just long enough to feel exactly what was ailing him.

When she came back around in her own body she went over to tell Hana what she had discovered.

Hana left what she was doing and they went back over to the dog.

She made a move to open the cage but the dog snarled, revealing his fangs.

"Let me try," Ino offered and surprisingly enough the dog offered no resistance this time. Having been in his mind, even momentarily, had created a reassuring bond for the dog. He understood that this person was not a threat. He had sensed that she wanted to help him.

Ino opened the cage and urged the nin dog out, reassuring him against the pain in his shoulder and ribs.

Once on the table, Hana suggested that Ino try to heal the dog with her medical jutsu.

Ino wasn't sure that she would be up to the task but Kiba's sister reassured her that she would guide her if she needed any help.

The younger kunoichi soon learned that there were few differences between treating animals and humans. For the slight changes, Hana showed her the adaptations to make in her technique.

When the operation was finished, Konoha's veterinarian had to admit that she was impressed. The mix between Ino's medical training and her ability to enter the animal's mind made for a great combination and Hana complimented her as such. "Would you like to stick around and help me with a few more patients? I could really use the help."

"Sure," Ino replied. She really did want to wait around until she could visit with Akamaru and see if the treatment she had concocted for his allergies would do him any good and then she still hadn't seen Kiba. She needed to tell him how she had unfortunately let him down in the end and that they would be leaving for the conference in two days.

Hana and Ino worked until just after midnight. Ino could barely believe that she still had the energy to work at the vet's office so late but she found the work fascinating and the time was flying by. Plus she had finally been able to visit a bit with Akamaru and his allergy symptoms had cleared up immediately thanks to the potion she had whipped up.

"Finally, I think we can call it a night," Hana suggested. "Thanks for all your help. Why don't you stop by the house for a bite to eat?"

"Sure, that'd be great!" Ino accepted, realizing that she hadn't eaten in hours.

The two kunoichi were just about to finish their meal when Kiba burst through the door.

He had to take a double take when he caught sight of Ino sitting at the kotasu with his sister. What the hell was she doing there? She was the last person he wanted to see, definitely now that he was with…

"Good evening," a feminine voice rang out from the entrance hall of the house.

Ino and Hana looked over to see a cute civilian who was apparently Kiba's date for the night.

"Just stay there," Kiba insisted, before making his way up the staircase. It would be better that the twosome not mingle with the girl at the threshold. Had he have known that Ino would be there then he wouldn't have run home for 'supplies' which he could have picked up in any pharmacy; but he was here and he had what he needed tucked away in his room so there would be no running off in a panic now. He quickly gathered the condoms out of his side table drawer and stuck them in a backpack before heading back down the stairs and out of the door as quickly as possible. He did not turn to acknowledge his sister or Ino, feeling somehow embarrassed although he knew he had no reason to feel that way.

"What was that about?" Ino inquired.

"Oh, that was just Kiba with his flavor of the day," suggested Hana.

"Of the day? So he does this all the time?" Ino asked, rather taken aback.

"Ok, that might be a slight exaggeration; but I can't say that I've ever seen him around with the same girl twice. But then he rarely brings them round here and he never lets them enter the house."

"Oh," Ino replied, suddenly losing her appetite to a hollow pit in her stomach. She found herself shifting the food around that remained on her plate. Then finally, "It's really late. I'd better get going. If my dad hears I'm back in the village and he hasn't seen me he'll get worried."

"But you didn't finish your dinner. Are you ok? You look kind of pale all of a sudden."

"Yeah, I'm fine," Ino insisted. "I just hadn't realized what time it was."

"Well how about you drop by again tomorrow if you can? Not to sound needy but I'd love a hand in the clinic if you're interested."

"Yeah, sure," Ino replied, barely even hearing what she had been asked, as she made her way in a sort of daze to the front door.

XXXXX

Kiba, during this time, had made a beeline to the nearest love hotel with his 'flavor of the day.' He just needed to forget that he had felt even the slightest ounce of interest in Ino and to imagine that he hadn't just run into her back at his house.

The girl was pretty enough and he hadn't gotten laid in over two weeks so this evening's interlude was gliding along rather smoothly.

He liked that she was the one to insist on a blowjob to begin, after a bit of rough kissing. Her technique wasn't too bad and soon he was groaning and thrusting into the female stranger's mouth, grabbing her by a mane of nearly blond but not quite long enough hair. "Ah, that's good," he exclaimed, tilting his head back. "Keep it up, Ino."

The temperature must have dropped by thirty degrees.

"Ino? Who the hell is Ino?" The girl was up from his crotch and on her knees wiping saliva from her lips with the back of her hand as if she'd been feeding on poison.

"Huh? Did I say…? It was a slip of the tongue; no big…."

"Well you can go tell that to your Ino bitch then!" she replied, grabbing her belongings as she exited the door without another word.

Kiba threw his head back several times to hit the pillow, wishing it were something harder so that he could bash these thoughts from his brain. Damn, damn, damn, damn… What the hell was going through his mind?

XXXXX

The next morning, Ino awoke to a clearer head. She understood that Kiba was not the man she had overeagerly imagined him to be. She simply needed to grow out of the stupid school girl type crush she was having and face the two weeks at the conference with dignity and return to get her last mission approved. There was nothing she couldn't face unscathed, she decided, not even two hellacious weeks with the dog nin. Then she remembered her promise to Hana and the fact that she still hadn't announced the trip to Kiba and found herself running to the bathroom to prepare for a new day.


	6. Chapter 6

The next morning, back at the vet clinic, Ino ran into Kiba who was there visiting with Akamaru but he gave her the cold shoulder.

He was already on his way towards the door before Ino could speak to him about their trip.

"I need to get going. Whatever you need to say to me you can tell to Hana," he informed her, making a hasty exit.

"What's eating him?" Ino asked Hana.

"Who knows?" she sighed. "Anyways, I'm glad to see you here. Since Kiba has obviously decided not to help me this morning I'm gonna need your services more than ever. Taking care of the animals isn't just about healing them. The dogs need to be walked, the cages changed, all of them fed. You get the picture. I'm sure it's not what you were looking forward to doing today but those things have to be done. Do you mind?"

"Nah, it's ok. Admittedly I was thinking I'd be using some more of my techniques to start but I understand. Just tell me where to begin," Ino accepted, knowing that working in the floral shop wasn't much different. Flowers required watering, weeding, repotting, and even their own type of feeding. Selling flowers might look like fun on the outside, composing bouquets and helping customers make their selections, but everyone seemed to ignore all of the manual labor behind running the boutique. It sounded like helping out at the clinic would be similar to what she did in her family's shop.

The two kunoichi worked hard throughout the day with just a quick pause for lunch.

Ino did get to use her jutsu and medical techniques on two of the animals, with Hana's guidance, and once again the young veterinarian was quite pleased with the results.

Ino would have liked to stay longer, to learn a bit more, and even more importantly to wait and speak with Kiba; but when 6:00 pm rolled around and she still hadn't caught sight of him, she decided that she would just have to pass the information on to his sister.

"Hana, I know there's still a lot to do but I'm going to have to leave. I have a 'mission' again with Kiba," she explained, avoiding having to admit the truth behind the trip to her senpai. "I haven't even had a chance to tell him about it yet but we're supposed to be leaving by this time tomorrow morning. Will you please pass the message on to him? Just mention that it's that mission at the conference Tsunade told us about before. He'll understand. I need to get packing."

"Yeah, sure no problem. He should be here around dinnertime anyway. I told him this morning that I was going to release Akamaru this evening. He'll be back to pick him up then, just in time for your mission."

"Oh, yeah, that's another thing," Ino remembered. "Akamaru won't be able to go on this mission. With it being at a conference center and all, they don't allow dogs."

"Ah, an infiltration and assassination mission, I see. Sounds a lot more exciting than working at the vet clinic!" Hana teased.

"Uh, huh," Ino nodded, feeling almost guilty for pretending that she was leaving on some sort of real mission.

"Well take care and I'll tell Kiba."

Hana continued to slave away at the clinic. She still hadn't finished for the day when Kiba came to collect Akamaru who showed no more signs of ever having been sick.

"Looks like I get to dog sit," she started.

"Yeah, I have to head out with Ino tomorrow," he mostly mumbled to himself.

"Oh, so you know already? She asked me to tell you; but you sure don't look too pleased," she added noticing his obvious slouch. "What is your problem today? I thought you were going to help me out in the clinic but you disappeared as soon as Ino walked through the door. Is there something the matter between you two?"

"Us two? You sound like we're a couple or something. Ino's just not an easy person to get along with and that's it; so, no, I'm not looking forward to another fucking mission with her when we just got back from one two days ago, alright!" Whoa, that had come out harsher than he had expected.

"Ok, calm down. Maybe this isn't the right time to talk to you about this then, but I have a favor to ask you."

"I'm all ears," he replied, ready to change the subject.

XXXXX

Ino and Kiba set off for Tea Country in silence the next morning. She had tried to greet him cheerfully with one of her Ino-style death hugs but he caught her arms before they could wrap around his neck. His scowl warned her to back off.

She still couldn't figure out why he was acting so cold. The Kiba she had heard about and finally befriended was much more happy-go-lucky and she definitely preferred the boy she had bonded with in the cave just a few days ago. His present behavior was only reaffirming to her that he was definitely not a guy to get involved with.

Midway through their journey, Ino could stand it no longer and she began to make small talk, mainly for her own benefit. The silence was really too much for her to bear; but soon it got to the point where she wouldn't shut up.

She went on about the trees and flowers they passed, her days spent working at the flower shop and finally about how much she had enjoyed helping Hana at the veterinary clinic.

Kiba, tried his best to tune her out, thinking to himself how unfair it was for everyone to think that he and Naruto were the loudmouths. However, he soon found himself listening intently to everything she was saying especially once she started to talk about working with his sister; he felt he should speak with her but he still refused to let her know that his resistance was melting away as he managed to remain silent for the duration of the journey.

By late afternoon they had arrived at the Tea Country conference town, much to Kiba's relief. They would go sign in and then he'd have Ino out of his hair for the next ten days if he played his cards right.

They walked up to the welcome desk where he let Ino announce their presence.

"Yamanaka Ino and Inuzuka Kiba, reporting in!"

Why did she have to be so damn dramatic? Kiba rolled his eyes, catching sight of the banner above their heads.

"I'm sorry, but I don't have a Yamanaka listed."

Kiba tugged at her shirt sleeve, his eyes riveted to the sign, but she shooed his hand away.

"Then try Inuzuka. Don't tell me we came all this way…"

"Uh, Ino," Kiba insisted, tugging at her shirt again.

"What is it, Kiba?" she huffed.

"Look up," he pointed towards the banner.

Ino's jaw dropped as she read: "Welcome to Tea Country's Third Quarterly Couples Workshop!"

"What the…"

"Ah, here you are," said their greeter, finding the name in the ledger, "Inuzuka Kiba and Ino. I don't know why you gave me your maiden name. If you would just sign here I'll give you your conference packet and your keys. You'll be staying in our…"

For the first time in hours, Ino was speechless so Kiba attempted to explain: "I'm sorry but I don't think you understand. We're here for the leadership conference. There must be another registration desk. If you could just point us to it…"

"No, this is the only conference going on right now. The leadership conference was last month but I'll still take a look," the woman paused rummaging through a file. "Yes, here it is, just as I remembered. You two made it in just under the deadline. The request came in late yesterday afternoon from your aunt Tsunade. Here's her letter if you want to read it but she specifically says you're coming here for the couples workshop and look she even asked us to wish you well... and, uh, oh yes, here... 'they're going to need it,' " she finished by reading that last line.

'Shit,' Kiba thought, realizing that they'd been had. He looked over to Ino who had turned bright red in the face and who looked dangerously close to going off on somebody at the desk so he quickly jumped in.

"Uh, thanks, sorry about the mix-up. We'll just be taking our things." He signed the ledger, grabbed up the information packet along with the keys and dragged Ino by the arm away from the table before she did something regrettable- all in one fatal swoop.

"What are you doing?" she protested.

"Keeping you from making a scene. We're already in enough hot water with the Hokage. Now is not the time to start a protest. Let's just get to our inn and we'll work this out later."

"Fine," Ino pouted, then, "Hey! So you're speaking to me again!"

So he was. Maybe Tsunade was on to something.

XXXXX

At their designated hotel, Ino asked: "So what room am I in?"

Kiba looked over the papers and flipped through frantically thinking he must have overlooked a page. "There's only one room listed on here."

"One room? Are you sure you…"

"Yes, I'm sure," he said yanking the documents back before she could grab them. "Man," he sighed as they arrived in front of their door. "Try your key."

The key worked fine.

"Now I'll try mine." Of course his key worked just as well. "Looks like we're sharing a room," he said as he pushed open the door to discover rather tiny living quarters.

They stepped cautiously inside to learn that the bed took up almost all of the floor space.

"Tsunade obviously didn't go overboard on the accommodations," Ino said flopping back onto the bed. She still couldn't believe this was happening.

"Well I hate to inform you, Inuzuka-san, but the bathroom is even worse," Kiba informed her after pushing back the door to the facilities. "The tub is horribly small and there's definitely not enough room for all of your make-up in here."

He turned just in time to receive a fast smack in the face from a pillow.

"Inuzuka-san, my ass, and I do not wear that much make-up!" She was so gearing up to give him a piece of her mind, when she caught sight of a touch of that cute fanged smile and instantly found she could no longer be mad. Besides, it wasn't really him she should be mad with. This was all Old Lady Tsunade's set-up.

Kiba had tried not to smirk but once he realized that she was going to have to pass for Mrs. Inuzuka for the next ten days, it was more than he could contain. Plus he'd gotten in the gratuitous shot about her make-up and had received just the reaction he'd expected. Oh, this was going to be fun; yeah, Kiba, our hero, was definitely back.

"Oh, and you'd better get used to that teeny, tiny bathtub cause that's where you'll be sleeping!" she added.

Ok, maybe not so much fun.

XXXXX

After looking over the program, they decided to attend the opening banquet. Hell, it was free food at least.

All of the couples in difficultly appeared to have gathered there as well- couples of all ages, some surprisingly young. A few were visibly arguing, many barely speaking, the worst of the lot refused to even make eye contact. It was a rather miserable crowd to behold.

'We're not that bad are we?' Ino thought to herself before realizing that there was no 'we' to worry about. Still she had to ask: "How did we end up here- with them?" she leaned over to whisper low to Kiba, hoping he'd notice just where they'd landed.

"I told you Tsunade must really have it out for us. So I'm thinking it's best that we just play along and it'll all be over sooner than we know," he replied, taking in the motley crew of civilians. "This might just be our toughest infiltration mission yet," he added with a wink.

Ino stifled a laugh behind her hand. Kiba somehow always found the best words, she had to admit.

They didn't hang around for the end of the ceremony. Ino figured it was pointless and she was beat after the trip and the long hours she had put in at the clinic so they retired to their room where the embarrassment of their sleeping situation resurfaced.

When Ino finally got a good look at the tub she felt kind of sorry for Kiba. It wasn't like he was trying to get them trapped in a bed together and it would be very uncomfortable having to sleep like that for ten straight nights.

"Look Kiba, and before I say anything, don't you dare take this the wrong way; but if you want to sleep in the bed with me you can."

His face perked up.

"Did you not hear what I just said?"

"It's not like that. I'm just surprised that you're being so nice," he explained.

"Well, if you sleep in that tub I'll have to haul your ass all the way back to Konoha, you'll be so stiff by the end of our stay. There's no room on the floor and I doubt there are any other rooms in this city now that the conference is in full swing. I'm just trying to be a fair and level-headed leader," she joked.

"Not a good and proper wife?" he faked a pout.

"You're really going to make me regret this aren't you?"

"Not if I can help it," he promised, hoping she'd miss the double meaning. "I'll go get changed in the bathroom. Let me know when it's ok to come out."

He grabbed his bag and locked himself in the other room before realizing he hadn't packed any pajamas. He never bothered with them when he was sleeping alone, or otherwise for that matter, and he had been expecting to get his own lodgings the same as he thought he was packing for a leadership conference.

What to do?

After a bit of thought, the only logical solution seemed to be to sleep in his boxers. Lots of guys did that right?

Ino on her end realized that her nightclothes were probably skimpier than what she would have liked. They weren't revealing per se but the spaghetti string top and boy cut bottoms did show more skin than necessary for a night in the bed with Kiba. She was wondering if it was too late to break her promise when Kiba called out to see why she hadn't finished by now.

"It's ok. You can come out."

Then she saw him: "You're going to sleep in those?!?"

"Yeah what's wrong? I didn't have any pajamas," he rebutted.

Ino was trying her best to pry her eyes off of the boy, or rather the bottom half of the boy before her. She'd seen him looking rather damn nice without his shirt when they were out in the wilderness but boxer-briefs were just too much. They were leaving all too little to her imagination and now it wasn't Kiba she was worried about. She didn't think she could trust herself a night alone in the bed with that body.

"S-so y-you're just going to wear y-your underwear?" she stuttered.

"That's all I have. What? Would you prefer I not wear anything?"

Ino turned beet red.

"Anyways it's not like you brought much better," he continued.

Ino looked down just in time to catch a spaghetti strap falling down off of her right shoulder and back up to find Kiba practically encouraging its descent through the pure force of his stare. Ok, this was not going to work.

"Well until you can get some real pajamas the deal is off! Here's your pillow!" she screeched, throwing the object into his face for the second time in less than four hours.

Kiba decided there was no point in arguing. She had at least offered him a spot in the bed. Decidedly, her will was starting to break.


	7. Chapter 7

Kiba awoke the next morning with a huge crick in his neck thinking he probably should have fought harder for a place in the bed. Ino was pounding on the door to gain access to the bathroom. 'Hell, if she'd wanted in so early then maybe she should have slept in here herself!' he thought.

He exited the facilities, after having thrown a pair of pants on just to be sure, rubbing at the knot in the back of his neck. Ino could tell that he was definitely suffering.

"Come over here and sit down," she led him over to the bed and kneeled there behind him. "Let me massage that for you."

Kiba looked back quickly enough to feel a sting of pain shoot through the swollen muscle. This just had to be a trap- Ino straddling him from behind on the bed.

Ino sensed his concern and reassured him: "It's purely medical so just relax and stop trying to turn your head."

She collected a small amount of chakra into her palms and fingertips, just enough to bring heat into her hands, making the massage more effective but without the healing power.

Her hands were warm and soft as they ran gingerly over the nape of his neck and down over his strong, round shoulders; but the pleasure was not his alone. Ino enjoyed the feel of his smooth, bare skin. Although the technique required no more than rubbing the tightness at its point of origin she found her hands exploring slowly down the sides of his arms, his shoulder blades and eventually into the small of his back, causing him to jerk, but rather fortunately returning her to her senses as he exclaimed: "Ah, that tickles!"

"It's not supposed to tickle, idiot," she gave him a soft shove. "But is that better?" she asked, her hands back on his shoulders.

He nodded a 'yes' and rolled his head around to test just how much so.

Instinctively she reached around her cured patient's torso, wrapping him in a strong hug at the abdomen and proceeded to place a motherly, 'all better' kiss on the once tender spot in his neck; but to her surprise, he quickly drew open her arms to end the embrace and stood nervously. Without even turning to acknowledge her he grabbed a nearby shirt and spoke: "We'd better get moving if we don't want to be late for that first class. I'm gonna head over for some breakfast," and he left the room with the bewildered girl still sitting there on the bed.

'What an ungrateful bastard,' she thought. "You could have at least said 'thank you.' " she shouted out after him.

Kiba paused once he was safe in the shelter of the hallway. He threw on the shirt and leaned his head back to rest on the door, attempting to collect his thoughts before leaving off towards the dining hall. It wasn't that he hadn't appreciated Ino's bedside manner (far to the contrary) but her hands had made their way innocently, yet uncomfortably, too far south during that hug- the same direction the stiffness in his neck had apparently travelled during the manipulation. Thank goodness he had put on a pair of pants earlier. Yeah, he could have thanked her but he wasn't quite sure that she would have appreciated the preferred method that he had in mind.

XXXXX

"Communication: The Key to it All"- this was their first lecture at the couple's workshop and it was mind-numbingly boring.

After a night of little sleep followed by a great morning massage, Kiba was nodding off within the first two minutes. He would have drifted off to dreamland had he not caught Ino making hand signs through the side of his heavy, partially closed lids. The sight was enough to slap him back to reality.

"What the hell are you doing?" he said a bit too loudly.

"What does it look like?" she whispered back, setting the tone of voice they should be using.

"Looks like you're about to make a clone."

"Damn straight. Listen, as I see it we were sent here under Old Lady Tsunade's orders but it's not like she's here to make us actually sit through this junk. Besides, I need to get some more appropriate pajamas. There's some great shopping in this town and I hear it calling my name. Enjoy your z's."

"Wait. There is no way you're going to duck out on me. I'm coming with you."

"Alright, alright," she agreed and they both discreetly formed the signs that found them outside of the conference hall to be replaced by two rather studious clones.

They peaked in to make sure that their copies were safely in place and had gone undetected so far.

Mission accomplished. Now it was time to head towards the shops; but even Kiba couldn't help glancing back over his shoulder to take another look at the clone couple through the window. It was almost creepy to see how cute they appeared side by side.

That must have been the same impression they were giving as Ino led Kiba by the hand through the shopping district: the cute couple starring Ino as the overenthusiastic girlfriend and him as the poor sucker boyfriend about to shell out some hard earned cash just to keep her happy and receptive. Well, the image stopped there. He wasn't getting any so he certainly didn't need to stay on her good side to keep getting it. He might look like the moneybags boyfriend to curious onlookers but at least he was safe from being out of pocket. It was just one more reason why one night stands were better than fulltime girlfriends.

Eventually Ino found a shop that caught her eye and they entered.

The store had all types of underwear, swimwear and sleepwear for both men and women. Kiba knew that he should be looking for replacement nightwear himself, but shopping just wasn't his thing. He casually perused the men's section to waste time; god only knew how long he'd have to wait for Ino, speaking of whom…

The kunoichi jumped out from between two rows of clothing, startling the poor shopaphobic dog nin.

"What do you think? Should I buy it?" she asked, holding up a skimpy, see-through number that made her first night's pajamas look like full winter attire.

This was obviously trap number two of the day. So he was supposed to innocently say what he really thought, only to awaken Ino's ire and set himself up for a strong smack in the face. "Wasn't the idea to cover up?" he replied, all the while chanting in his head 'buy it, buy it, please, buy it.'

Slightly disappointed by his straight lace answer, Ino went to hang the article back on the rack. She had been hoping to get a better reaction out of him.

'Dammit,' he thought as he watched her walk away. He had wished as loudly as his thoughts would permit. Wasn't she supposed to have some kind of telepathic powers or something? So why the hell hadn't his mental suggestions worked?

Ino returned a few minutes later with a much tamer set.

"So have you found anything yet?"

"Uh, yeah, this one," he lied, picking the first pair of pajamas he could place his hands on.

"How cute, Scottie dogs! You would pick something like that," she approved.

Kiba glanced down to see that he had in fact picked a pair of long sleeve, long legged pajamas with a Scottie dog print. How ironically ridiculous, he rolled his eyes.

"Oh, if I'd have seen a pair like that I would have gotten those," she pouted. "They didn't have any nice patterns in the 'conservative' pajama selection for girls."

"Well if you like them so much then why don't you buy a pair?"

"They're guy pajamas silly and, ew, flannel. You don't want that. Trust me. Let's see… ah, here, they have the same pair in silk. You should get these instead." She handed him the better alternative.

At least she knew how to make an informed decision because boxers seemed much simpler as far as he was concerned.

"These really are cute especially with the purple background. Hey wait. I know," she continued. "You get these and wear the bottoms. Then I can wear the top. Tsunade would be so proud. We'll make a cute matching pair," she beamed.

Kiba hadn't quite followed her reasoning even though she seemed rather convinced. The whole affair was all a bit new and scary to him…sharing pajama sets…hmm, definitely a girl idea.

"And we'll be saving money. 'Budgeting for Your Future,' isn't that the lecture for the day after tomorrow? We'll have the jump on them all," she had added to convince him as she led him to the cashier's desk; but that last argument hadn't settled in until he realized that he had paid the total for what was to be a communal outfit. How did she do that?

Even worse, though, he'd gone on to pay for lunch as well and she hadn't even insisted.

XXXXX

That evening and several boutiques later it was finally bedtime.

Kiba had always thought he was a guy with good stamina. He sure did train hard enough. So why had a day of shopping with Ino completely worn him out?

He barely had the force to rejoice when he appeared in an acceptable pair of pajama bottoms, earning him his rightful place in the bed. He almost wondered if she hadn't tired him out on purpose because all he really wanted now was a good night's sleep. Well maybe after a bit of…

Ino appeared in the silk pajama top. Now he understood why girls liked wearing guys' pajamas. The ensemble might have looked rather chaste back in the shop but on Ino the stupid dog print shirt actually looked hot. Her ample breasts filled out the front of the garment, raising the bottom hem to fall just below the roundness of her buttocks. He began to question if she really thought that this was a more conservative choice of sleepwear because hiding all the naughty parts just a bit more was only making his imagination work even harder at full steam.

"Man, I think that crick is coming back in my neck. I could really use another massage," he feigned; but Ino wasn't duped.

"Well too bad you're too ticklish for another one of my massages," she said, poking him teasingly in the ribs.

He replied with a playful jab to her side of his own and before they knew it they were caught in the middle of a full blown tickle battle until Ino lost her footing when her knees buckled under the contact with the bed behind her. She fell flat on her back onto the firm mattress, tugging Kiba down with her as she grasped onto his arms for support. He found himself lying on top of her as the last of their laughter died with the realization of their embarrassing position.

That is when Kiba, always a creature of impulse, laid in to kiss the beautiful girl below him, with feelings stronger than reason.

He would quickly regret his decision, seeing Ino's playful smile vanish and give way to a look bordering on panic, when he pulled back from the kiss which she had not returned.

On her end, Ino was waging an inner battle between body and mind. If ever she had listened to instinct then she would have easily, all too easily and willigly let go; but pride would not let her give in to a boy known all over Konoha for his easy conquests. She refused to become his latest victim, understanding that their current living situation turned her into an easy target, the next in line to be tossed aside once they returned to the village.

There was only one solution left- the ever famous pillow barrier and only once she was safe behind the fortified wall did she surrender to slumber.


	8. Chapter 8

Kiba wasn't quite sure why he had kissed Ino. They were having fun, goofing around, and then there she was, her face just inches away; and she had looked so beautiful. It had just happened, really. No matter how lame the excuse sounded, no other came closer to explaining the truth. Setting up a wall of pillows seemed like a rather extreme punishment for an innocent but inevitable mistake. Hadn't he been playing by her rules so far?

Ino had fallen asleep easily enough but her dreams were troubled, a strange repetitive sequence. She was being chased by a large beast, a wolf perhaps, and running, always running through a dark and endless forest. She could see a light in the distance. The exit must be near but try as she might she never seemed to get any closer as if she was simply running in place.

She awoke with a jolt, soaked in a cold sweat. Evidently she had been tossing and turning in the night because the safety pillows had been kicked away to the foot of the bed and she realized that she was clinging onto Kiba- one arm and leg wrapped over his body. He had cradled her head on his shoulder.

"Are you ok, Ino?" he asked now that she was awake. He hadn't dared try to wake her and had obviously not slept much himself. "You had a pretty rough night there."

She scooted away from him in embarrassment only to catch sight of red claw marks running across his chest.

He caught her gaze. "Yeah, you were fighting someone or something for most of the night. Guess I ended up in the middle of the battle," he laughed it off.

"Kiba, I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to, well, I- I didn't know…"

"It's no big deal. I've been through worse but your pillows didn't make it out so well. Hope you're not too upset; but I promise I was the perfect gentleman the entire time."

Now Ino felt completely stupid- a pillow barrier, what had she been thinking? Then to be the one to send it crashing down and practically throw herself during the night onto the man she was supposedly protecting herself from.

Just what or who was she truly seeking protection from?

There was no denying that she had never had as much fun with any other guy as she was having with Kiba, not even with any of her ex-boyfriends.

Yesterday he had pretended to sulk over the day wasted shopping but once they were out of the classroom he had been free to go and do whatever he pleased. Nonetheless he hadn't even ventured off once on his own. It was almost as if standing around and watching her go through piles of clothes was the most entertaining option this city had to offer. They had spent the entire time exchanging light banter and joking about any number of pointless topics but she had to admit that it had been genuinely enjoyable.

Now here she was waking up, draped over his body. He was laughing off her nocturnal aggression and had found the heart to comfort her in her tormented sleep rather than leave for shelter.

That's when it occurred to her that she was attacking him endlessly both day and night, accusing him of acts he hadn't even tried to commit and which she herself wasn't completely innocent of thinking of herself. Maybe it was time to give credit where credit was due. It's not like cutting him some slack was really all that much to offer. She owed him at least that much and she would start that very day.

XXXXX

Through an unspoken mutual agreement they knew that they would be ducking out of the day's classes again but this time, once outside, Ino asked Kiba what he wanted to do.

"I hogged all of our time yesterday. What would you like to try?"

Kiba had to admit he was a bit perplexed. Given a choice of fun things to do normally he would have chosen heading out for a sprint with Akamaru. There wasn't much that interested him 'in town' per se. He knew that she was trying to be nice but what he really wanted was for her to continue having fun and more importantly having fun in his company. So he figured he should choose an activity that girls like. The whole dating scene was pretty much a mystery to him and then they weren't dating but those should still be the activities that she would like, right?

"Well we're in Tea Country. Why don't we check out the museum?" he suggested.

"Oh yeah! I hear the gift shop has some of the best varieties. I can get a couple of souvenirs while we're there."

That had gone over well. Ino was most pleased and, although Kiba still wasn't convinced that there was much more to tea than soaking some leaves in hot water despite all that the large exhibit hall suggested, he didn't regret his choice in the least. They even ended up trying the tearoom for lunch. He stomached dainty pasteries and the chatter of grandmas to make her believe he was enjoying the best meal ever, which he once again paid for although he really didn't mind this time. It almost felt like a real date- not that they were on one or that he would ever want the bother of an official girlfriend but this would be a chance to see what dating could be like minus the strings of attachment.

That afternoon they ended up in a park. The pace was slower than what Kiba was generally used to but the subtle feeling of pride he felt as onlookers glanced over at the cute strolling couple quickly caused him to forget. Yes, they were definitely exuding the same vibe he had detected when he first saw their clones sitting side by side, not that something so silly should matter but somehow it did and it kept making thoughts of 'them' flash through his mind. He found it difficult to focus on Ino's botany lesson as she introduced him to the endless species that the gardens had to offer. She was apparently in hog heaven (no pun on her name intended) and he couldn't be happier.

They happened upon a fortune teller.

"Let's get a compatibility reading!" she suggested.

Kiba frowned at the idea. "Don't tell me you believe in that crap," he rolled his eyes.

"No, not really, but it'll be fun. I know I promised we'd do what you want to today but come on, please."

Damn her for looking so cute when she pleaded. As long as she didn't take it too seriously then it might be interesting. At least she was testing their chances as a couple. Progress was being made.

The card reader asked their names and shuffled her deck. She chose the five top cards and turned each over with a slow, mechanical precision that held her audience captive. It was a well rehearsed performance.

Ino found herself holding her breath in anticipation as the woman studied the cards carefully. Finally she could stand the suspense no longer, "Well?"

"Patience girl, the cards are speaking to me… Ah, they see much happiness for each of you but if that is together or apart I cannot yet tell. That would require another reading," she explained, stretching out her palm in anticipation of further payment.

"Here," Ino said, after fishing the sum out of her change purse.

There was more shuffling and a repeat of the same meticulous presentation. Ino was way too into this act for Kiba's tastes.

"Hmmm… now this is interesting. Although the first reading predicted happiness I definitely see you both very clearly this time but the cards are undeniably indicating a path filled with much grief and sorrow."

"Tell me what's happening exactly."

"I'd love to, dear, but that will require more new cards."

Ino moved to dig her purse out again when Kiba grabbed her by the arm to lead her away.

"Hey, I want to hear the rest," she protested.

"I thought you said you didn't believe in fortunes. You were about to get robbed blind back there."

"I was not. I know it's not real. I was just curious, that's all."

"Yeah, right. So if she'd have said we're a perfect match and that we're gonna have lots of kids and live happily ever after, would we be heading off to select the rings right now?"

"Don't be silly, Kiba," Ino blushed. "It was just for fun!" Guys just didn't understand.

That evening Ino thanked him for a terrific day: "I had the best time today," she shared. "Are we going to do the treasure hunt tomorrow?"

Oh yes, the famous treasure hunt meant to strengthen couples' teamwork. It would mean actually participating but at least it would take place outdoors, a more natural environment for Kiba than getting stuck in seminar halls all day.

"Sure, sounds like fun," he accepted.

"I was hoping you'd say that! I'm up for some healthy competition but we're long shots to win against the others."

Kiba just laughed.

"Looks like we have a long day ahead of us then. I suggest we sleep in and skip that 'budgeting' class. Then we can just go straight to the treasure hunt in the afternoon. Besides, I don't think that either of us has gotten much sleep lately," she yawned, curling up beside him and tucking her head back into the niche of his shoulder. She had placed herself just as she had awakened that morning. "Promise not to let me have any nightmares…"

Kiba shifted his arm to lift her face towards him as he was about to speak but realized that she had already drifted off to sleep. Had he really felt that he couldn't be happier than with her in the park, earlier that day? Now it seemed doubtful. Surely nothing could beat what he was feeling thay very moment.

XXXXX

They both slept so peacefully and soundly that it was already after noon when they awoke. They had to rush to dress and grab a bite to eat so as not to be late for the event.

They were the last couple to arrive and receive the list of clues for hidden items scattered about the landscape.

"My, you guys seem to always make it in just under the wire," scolded the same woman who had taken care of their registration the day that they arrived. "Just be careful. You two probably shouldn't lose any more points," she added in a low tone just for their earshot, when actually neither understood or cared what she was going on about.

A whistle blew. "You may now open your envelops! Good luck to you all!"

Kiba let Ino have the honors of opening theirs. Honestly the paper inside meant little to him and he smirked as she actually set about studying the first clue.

She quickly noticed his lack of enthusiasm. "You could help me you know. This is a group project remember."

"Uh, Ino, do you really think I need a list and a map to find any of these stupid treasures they've set up? Don't forget we're talking about civilians here. The scent is so strong on everything they thought they were hiding that I could find every item blindfolded."

"But isn't that cheating? Shouldn't we play fair? It's not like it's their fault that you have a superhuman flare."

"Ok. How about this then- I'll give everyone here a two hour handicap. That'll leave us an hour to collect what's on the list and still make it back before time's up."

"Alright, but what are we gonna do for the next two hours?"

"Well if you'll take a look at that map of yours there's what appears to be a beautiful lake about three kilometers over that way," he pointed. "We can go hang out and talk or walk or whatever."

Ino didn't dare ask what 'whatever' meant as she nodded in agreement.

"Come on, I'll race you," he shouted back over his shoulder as he ran off. "First one there decides what we do."

Coming from Kiba, it was too cute of an offer to refuse.

They arrived at the lake and fell breathless to the soft bed of grass there.

"Looks like I won," he informed her as if she really had any chance of winning.

"Is everything a competition with you?" she had to ask.

"Yeah, pretty much. Especially when I know I'm gonna win, which is almost always," he joked.

"Don't forget you did take off before me but I'll let it slide this one time but only because this is about the most beautiful lake I've ever seen," and it was. The water was clear and pristine. The surrounding landscape was still filled with luscious green grass which stood out in remarkable contrast with the yellow and orange leaves, serving as a reminder that Autumn had arrived.

"Glad you're taking your loss with dignity. Now for the punishment- you have to join me in a dip."

"Are you out of your fucking mind? It's like 15 degrees celsius out here. News flash- summer's over."

"But it's a gorgeous day. It doesn't feel like 15. With the sun it's more like…"

"Sixteen!" she answered for him. "Big difference!"

"Aw come on. Where's the Yamanaka everyone talks about who's so adventurous and who would never turn down a challenge. You're a real spoilsport, afraid of a little cold water, and you call yourself a kunoichi."

"I am not a spoilsport and it's not the water," she pouted. He really knew how to hit a nerve with her. "It's just that we don't have swimsuits," she invented an excuse.

"Since when does anyone need a swimsuit to swim. I'm not saying to come skinny dipping but you're in civilian attire- cute purple bra and panties, no wraps, am I right?" he winked.

"So when did you get a byakugan, pervert?"

"Hey, you can't blame a guy for having a bit of imagination," he laughed. "But, really, Ino come on. It'll be fun and I've been itching to get outdoors some ever since we got sent here."

He so set himself up for the dog jokes every time but she decided that she wasn't going to take that route for once. No, she was gonna suck it up like any good kunoichi. A little cold water was nothing compared to some of the things she'd lived through and Kiba was right, underwear and swimwear were practically the same; so if that's what he wanted, she was gonna give him her all.

Without warning she began to strip.

She kicked off her sandal boots and wiggled her skirt from over her hips and down to her ankles. She slipped her top easily up over her head and off of her long slender arms. Then came the killer move as she slowly and purposefully rolled down each thigh high legging. She leaned into the movement which caused her breasts to rise and swell at the top of their cups, creating two perfect globes that begged to be taken in hand. The maneuver accentuated the length of her legs, the one closest to Kiba now caressed by the long whip that was her ponytail. When she straightened back up to stand she looked like a gymnast in her final pose after dismount with her hands raised above her head, winding her long locks up messily in view of the swim.

"What are you just standing there for?" she asked, knowing quite well why. "This was your idea."

Her little speech slapped Kiba back to reality. Had he been staring this whole time?

She turned with an inward smirk and walked to the glistening water, hips shifting harmoniously left and right. He caught himself staring again when he lifted the back of his hand to his face to wipe away what he assumed to be sweat. Oh, fuck, he had a nosebleed. He was pretty sure that hadn't happened since he was twelve. Taking a plunge in the cool waters had turned from a fun idea into a necessity.

He quickly stripped down to an infamous pair of boxer briefs but Ino had previously decided to concentrate on soaking to avoid reprisal for her earlier display. The next thing she knew, he was splashing up alongside her.

"Whoa… hey, it's not so bad," he tried to convince himself, acclimating to the low water temperature. "It'd be a good idea to move some, get the circulation going. I'll race you to the other side and back."

"I won't be out more clothes if I lose will I?" she had to ask.

"While I'm liking the thought," he hesitated, "I'll be nice and say 'no.' I won't put you through any more shedding (insert dog joke) today, but the winner gets to pick a 'punishment,' alright?"

"Deal," she replied, hurriedly swimming off to get a jump on the lead.

Kiba easily won the 500 meter race. Why she ever thought she might win was beyond her.

"Looks like you lost. For punishment, you owe me a kiss," he announced, quite pleased with his choice. This time there was no way she could squirm out of this one. She had agreed to the terms but he still readied himself for her latest excuse.

"Oh," she replied with a devilish charm, "because you consider that a punishment?" She reached out to bring him in for a strong, long awaited kiss. There was no need to deny it any longer. This was what she had wanted all along and he had provided her with the perfect excuse to finally lay down her weapons.

Kiba was literally speechless, his tongue too busy exploring Ino's mouth to care how or why she had finally decided to submit. Oh, god, he too had wanted this for so long.

They intertwined their tongues, seeking to move in deeper and deeper. Kiba pulled her in close, her already thin frame feeling light and buoyant in the water.

Soon she was sitting in his lap beneath the water, her legs wrapped tightly around his waist.

He felt the rough lace of her bra scratching against his chest accompanied by two hardened nipples which were not a result of the cold water.

Shifting in closer still she discovered the hard bulge of his excitement. He groaned at the contact, leaving her mouth to flutter kisses down her neck, nibbling gently with his fangs.

Despite the heat spreading through her body from her racing heart, she was shivering as waves of pleasure tingled down her spine. Kiba's little kisses were amazing! How could she have resisted him all this time? Time…time…

Ino pushed him back abruptly. "Shit. What time is it?"

"Who cares?" Kiba answered, returning to nuzzle into her neck.

"No, Kiba, really. I think we're already late and if we don't show up they'll probably send someone out to look for us and if they find us like this…"

"Looking like a real couple you mean?"

"Well we should still be kinda careful. Anyone could just walk by here."

"Ok, ok. You win. Let's head back," he reluctantly allowed her to slide away but only because he knew that now he'd have all his chances for that night.

They returned to the starting point, empty handed, with just seconds to spare.

The coordinator shook her head with a 'tsk,tsk.'

"I knew you two wouldn't do well but not to find even one treasure. Now you officially have the lowest score here."

"The lowest score?" Ino questioned.

"Have you been following anything that's been going on since you arrived? So far you have two points. I can't remember the last time that happened and the couple actually stayed together. And those two you got were from the only two identical answers you gave on your compatibility test in class the other day."

"Compatibility test?" This time it was Kiba's turn to wonder aloud.

"What, you didn't get your copies back? You guys are even less organized than I thought." She rummaged through a folder and found the tests which they (or rather their clones) had filled out the previous day and handed them each their copy.

"I should have subtracted points when you didn't show up for class this morning too," she continued "but I didn't have the heart to put you in the negatives. Keep in mind that this whole convention is about participation and you can't expect for your couple to grow stronger (and you two do need the most work from what I've seen) if you miss the lectures. Have you even started thinking about your joint performance for the talent show?"

"Talent show?!?" they shouted in unison.

"Oh, I give up," the woman again shook her head in despair before turning to take leave of the helpless duo.

That evening, Ino was feeling troubled. There was no more mistaking that she wanted Kiba physically. She had finally been willing to let down her guard but all signs were now telling her to slow down and back up. She didn't want to come across as just another one of Kiba's easy lays but what if there was nothing else between them to begin with?

She mulled over the results of their test. Kiba had tried to explain to her at least fifteen times that they weren't the ones who had answered the questions and that clones were only reliable up to a certain point but she was no longer listening to reason.

Finally he gave up and turned on his side to sleep and hopefully forget that this day had ever happened.

It took Ino quite awhile to join him. Besides the test, she couldn't get the fortune teller's predictions out of her head. No, they hadn't been very clear but they had certainly been filled with doom and gloom. She felt the same unpleasant pit in her stomach as when she had awaken from her nightmare the other morning. Oh, that dream- the feeling of being chased and of not escaping. There were too many omens, opening huge paths of doubt, so many warnings in fact that she felt it best to not seek comfort from another restless night curled up in the arm of the source of all bad things to come.


	9. Chapter 9

The next few days saw little change in Ino's attitude but a usually hotheaded Kiba was sporting an unprecedented calm.

Kiba spent the main part of his conversations with the girl trying to convince her that she was being silly and unreasonable but her worst trait, stubbornness, always won out.

Why exactly was he dealing with all the complication? This was turning into more work than he had anticipated. He'd never had a girl back down with such resistance and he'd certainly never had the patience to give chase with so little result as he was now. Try as he might to avoid being put on a leash, he knew that he was chasing at Ino's heels; but for some reason he wouldn't let up. He would give 'them' the time they needed, keep as much distance as she required and gradually test the waters from time to time as he had with the kiss at the lake. He knew what he wanted. He could only hope that she would eventually join him on the same wavelength.

This brought him to a new realization, he who had always jumped into the thick of things without much thought, the hunt could be just as good as the catch and the greater the prize (and Ino was definitely some prize) the greater and more exciting the chase.

Oh, he would prevail but it was going to take a hell of a lot of self discipline especially now that she was insisting they actually sit through the classes! She didn't want to miss any more tests and somehow she had gotten it into her head that they really did need counseling.

Why the classes? She would never have said so but it was a bit like taking out insurance before making a giant leap and if (stress on the word 'if') they were to become a couple, then they would have the tools to make it last; at least, that was the logic behind her folly.

Over the next days, they might not have been having the same kind of fun as when they skipped out on the classes but Ino was developing a new respect for Kiba. Her fears were based on his true intent. It was difficult to accept that he wanted anything more than to get up here skirt. That had to be what the omens were about, she figured, but surprisingly he was the perfect example of loyalty and understanding. He quipped and argued, sure, but he always came through and complied. It was a side of him that she never would have expected and it was making her fall for him even harder. Yes, even Ino's stubbornness had its limits.

Before she realized it their time in Tea country was coming to an end. She thought they should do something different while they still had a chance. She couldn't deny that her attitude had prevented them from taking advantage of a lot of fun activities in the convention city.

"How about we do something special this evening for a change?"

"Just how special?" Kiba smirked immediately.

"I wasn't talking about that kind of special… but there is this restaurant I read about that's supposed to be absolutely fantastic. It's dressy and a bit pricey but if you're up for it, I thought maybe…"

As if Kiba would ever say 'no.' "Sure if you want but I don't have anything dressy to wear."

"Then you'll have to buy at least a vest and preferably a tie during the lunch pause. There won't be enough time for me to help you pick something out though. I've got to find a dress of my own but I will stop by and make the reservation while I'm in the city center. Ah, I'm so excited!"

Despite having to wear a tie (hadn't he been fretting the leash?) Kiba had to admit that he was actually looking forward to the outing too. It sounded like what most would qualify as a real date and this might be his last chance to test the waters before heading back to Konoha.

Their reservation was for 8:30 pm. Ino began preparing as soon as their classes were finished for the day. She had decided to go all out. She had found the perfect dress and wanted to do it justice.

Kiba was ready early and was actually feeling nervous for some reason. He fidgeted between standing and sitting, not wanting to wrinkle his attire but hating the wait. They only had five minutes to make it on time and Ino had still not come out of the bathroom.

He was about to go and bang the door down when Ino suddenly exited and appeared before him. He was speechless.

She had chosen a deep blue floor length gown that bordered on purple to reveal a creamy calf through a mid thigh slit. The top wrapped snuggly to fit. Had she had been wearing nothing it would have been difficult to notice her curvaceous body much more. Her hair was wound up to shorten the length in a bun held together with decorative chopsticks but was still long enough to fall far below and between her shoulder blades. High heel shoes gave her just the extra height she needed to almost meet him nose to nose. Fortunately for him she was not so close.

"Let's get going or we'll be late. I can't run in these shoes," she joked.

Kiba didn't find his tongue until they were seated in what was an extremely high class restaurant. There were candelabras and chandeliers, fresh flowers, gold fixtures, even an orchestra- all of the trimmings of the world's most romantic settings. She had said pricey but he hadn't realized that he was about to break his piggy bank. Now he understood why she had wanted to stop by herself to make the reservation but staring at her across the table quickly brushed all of those thoughts to the side.

"You look really beautiful tonight, Ino," he admitted.

"Well you clean up pretty well yourself," she teased.

"Have you made your selection for this evening?" a waiter startled the couple. They had failed to even look at the menu so far, eyes feasting heavily upon one another.

"No, I don't think so. What would you recommend?" Kiba asked.

"Well, as an opener, might I suggest our world renowned oxtail soup? The chef only prepares it when the couples' therapy convention is in session as it is seems to hold some mysterious aphrodisiac properties."

"We'll take two bowls then and a bottle of your finest sake. We still need time to select the entrées," Kiba decided without a moment's hesitation.

"Very well," replied their waiter, with a short courteous bow, before heading off to the kitchen to report their order.

"And what if I don't want the soup?" Ino questioned. "You could have let me pick something on my own."

"Oh, you're having the soup. You can pick anything else you want this evening but the soup's a must," he informed her.

"Wait, now let me get this straight. You think I overreacted because of a card reading but you believe in aphrodisiac soup?"

"What, are you scared that you want be able to keep your hands off of me for the rest of our stay?" he taunted. "Of course it's a joke, but it's worth a try. When will you ever get the chance to say that you tried their world famous soup again? It'll be a funny story to tell your friends back home."

Their soup and sake arrived quickly.

Ino slurped hesitantly. Her eyes grew wide as the first spicy drops engulfed her tastebuds. "This is delicious!"

Kiba tasted his. Wow, it really was good, mystical properties or not.

By the time they had finished they were both feeling relaxed and warm cheeked, probably as much a result of the romantic atmosphere, a couple of cups of sake and the appreciation of present company as that of the soup itself.

After ordering the remainder of their meal, their tongues grew looser following another serving of alcohol.

They talked about Konoha and friends and family back home. They badmouthed Tsunade for her underhanded trick and finally began to reflect upon their days spent together.

Watching the gorgeous kunoichi in the candlelight as she spoke, Kiba clearly understood why he felt butterflies in his gut. She was not his to lose but their time was drawing to an end and he feared that she was slowly slipping away with each passing second. It was now or never.

"Ino," he practically cut her off from some mundane story, "there's something I've been meaning to talk to you about. I should have brought it up earlier but when we left Konoha I wasn't sure how I felt about it. We didn't leave on very good terms."

"Yeah, what was that all about? One minute things were fine and then you got all grumpy all me."

"It's not important now," he shook his head as if to erase the incident. "What is important is the proposition I have for you now and I want you to give it careful consideration, please."

Ino was most intrigued. Kiba wasn't often this serious.

He continued. "Hana asked me to speak with you. She's really happy with your work at the vet clinic and she really needs someone to help out and not just from time to time. Your mind transfer makes the diagnostics go ten times faster and she says you're really great with the animals. I couldn't believe it when she told me you won Unari's confidence. Even I try to stay clear of him even when he isn't injured," he chuckled. Ino's heart was beating faster by the minute.

"Well, what I'm trying to say," he continued, "is that my sister wants to offer you a fulltime post at the clinic if you want it. She's already ready to speak with Tsunade about it when we get back. I know your decision won't have anything to do with me but," he took a deep, concentrated breath, "if you accept it'll mean that you'll be at the Inuzuka compound a lot and I'd really be happy to have you around, for my part. I know we have to head back the day after tomorrow but I hope it won't mean that we won't be hanging out together anymore." There. He had said it.

Ino was on the verge of exploding with joy. Kiba didn't need to tell explain any further what a perfect plan this was. She immediately understood all of the wonderful ramifications that working with Hana could provide and not just for keeping in close contact with the brother even if that promised to be the greatest reward to reap. Taking on a post at the clinic would also be a way to combine both her medical and family ninjutsu skills. She would still be working as a kunoichi but in a manner that she enjoyed and excelled at. She really did love working with the animals, strangely more than with people she had helped at the hospital.

Ino quickly accepted the offer there and then, even if Hana was the one who needed to know most. Kiba couldn't have felt happier or more relieved. He felt as if a great weight had been lifted off of his shoulders as the time pressure that haunted them dissolved into thin air.

Without even realizing it, Kiba had saved her career as a kunoichi, just as he had promised himself he would do just two weeks earlier.

They joyfully finished their meal, polished off with a second bottle of sake to celebrate Ino's decision.

The small orchestra returned after their compulsory break and struck up a new chord.

Kiba stood and offered his hand to Ino. "Wanna dance?"

She easily accepted but not before reminding him, "This isn't a nightclub you know. It's not that kind of dancing."

"Just come on," he replied, leading her to the dance floor.

He took one of her hands in his, the other he placed firmly at her hip and they began to move in unison to the steps of a tango. Ino was stunned. During a side-step, she had to ask, "When the hell did you learn to dance?"

Kiba laughed, "See, I'm full of surprises; but actually it's the fault of that damn debutante ball."

The debutante ball- Ino remembered that event all too well. When her mother had passed away six years ago her father had gotten the rather stupid notion that by putting his daughter on display he could marry her off to the son of some rich civilian merchant. The plan had earned her two suitors but both relationships had ended quite abruptly. She had hated preparing for the whole affair so much that she had forced her father to convince Sakura's parents to allow their daughter to participate at the same time. Her friend had had zero luck, not that it had really mattered to Sakura since she was still concentrating solely on Sasuke. Hinata, being the Hyuuga heir, couldn't be dragged into such affairs; she certainly didn't need to present herself to the world.

Ino had to tease, "So you were a debutante? Funny how I don't remember you there."

"Ha, ha. It was my sister. She's never had a date, never had a boyfriend, so our mom was worried. She thought that she might find a guy for her if she participated but she turned everyone down. Plus it turned out that she discovered that she has two left feet. She never could learn the dance steps and so mom sent us both to class on Thursdays so that she'd have a practice partner. Turned out that I was a born natural so I kept getting sent to class with Hana plus I had to stay home to practice with her on Sunday afternoons. You can't imagine the excuses I found for Thursdays to leave my friends early. I could never have told them the truth."

Yes, Kiba was certainly full of surprises and Ino was definitely enraptured.

The music changed to a heated salsa and they found themselves locked in a tight embrace.

Ino could no longer contain her enjoyment. She flashed a large, happy smile as she stared into her dance partner's face. She extended her neck to place a most natural and pleased kiss on his lips. Had she have understood his kiss following their tickle session, she might have understood his overbearing need at that time, innocent yet inevitable. When she released the peck, he replied with a new kiss, deep and warm.

Her lips parted, reliving their time in the lake. Soon they were no longer dancing but slowly swaying to the music, all steps forgotten.

Who knew how long they had remained there, faces locked, when Ino broke the kiss to whisper in his ear, "Let's head back to our room."

Kiba did his best to contain his excitement as she led him out by the hand. He barely had a chance to remember that he hadn't paid before exiting the restaurant. He turned to place a wad of bills on the table, barely caring what the actual total might be. Needless to say their waiter received a generous tip. He had been right to suggest the soup.

Ino and Kiba ran through the streets to their hotel room. They had barely closed the door behind them when Ino found herself pushing him against the door in a kiss that was much less tame than that exchanged under public scrutiny.

Frantically she pushed back his new vest and discarded it to the floor. She worked at the buttons of his shirt, undoing the front. She took his tie in hand and led him, stepping backwards, towards the bed. Only this time when her knees touched the back of the mattress she pulled him down with her as she fell. His kiss was no longer an unexpected pleasure.

She pushed back his unbuttoned shirt as he loosened the noose around his neck, finally undoing the knot and throwing it to the side. He continued to remove his shirt until it was off, before falling down upon her for a newly strengthened kiss.

He fumbled at her back for buttons to undo her dress. He found his hands were rather useless at the moment, bungling and awkward with a nervousness he had never felt before. Fortunately, more familiar with what she was wearing, Ino undid the small pearl like buttons that closed the dress at the front, across her bosom. Once the flap was opened he went about peeling the tight fabric from her body, pulling it down to reveal her flesh, inch by glorious inch. It was so difficult to chose between following the descent with his eyes or lips but he eventually gave in to accompanying the soon to be abandoned garment with lips as soft as feathers, leaving a trail of hot breath in their wake. Ino's whole body was on fire. Her back arched at the feel of his mouth when it arrived at the most sensitive points along the way.

Only when he had arrived at the tips of her toes did he pull up to admire her in her entirety. The vision had never escaped his thoughts since the lake; but having her here now, being able to finally possess what he had only been allowed to play with back then, glazed his eyes with lust. Now he just needed to rid her of this cumbersome underwear.

He removed her bra, again fumbling more than his experience should have demonstrated. He suckled gently for pleasure but he didn't stay there for long, wanting to arrive at the place he desired most to discover; but first he stood to remove his pants to allow for some much needed breathing room for his overly eager member. Next he stooped to pull off a pair of lovely, lace panties. She raised her legs to comply and he took the opening between the two limbs as an invitation to dive in face first. He licked and sniffed and rubbed at the warm space there. He yearned to imprint her odor, her taste, into his senses. It was an odor that he needed to know, to remember, to return to. Strangely, what he was doing was more for his own pleasure, but it was driving Ino wild, and soon she could no longer contain her excitement as she grabbed at his already scruffy locks. Within seconds he was able to indulge fully in her sweet female secretions.

When he pulled up, he wore the smirk of a very happy man, a man who had far more than proven his worth, wearing a smile that almost rivaled Ino's look of bliss. He broke the moment for just a few seconds as he went to look for protection in his bag. Somehow they managed to finish the supply he had brought with him before the sun rose on their final day of therapy.


	10. Chapter 10

Kiba and Ino awoke the next afternoon, locked in one another's arms. It had been a splendid night, well worth the present soreness.

They were kissing again when Kiba's stomach growled. "What time is it?"

"Wow, it's already after one," she answered, looking over at the alarm clock.

"No wonder I'm starving… well, there's that and, after last night, I really need my calories," he joked, which she answered with a knowing, understanding smile.

"They're serving a grand finale buffet at the talent show. Maybe we should head over there. It's free food," she suggested.

Kiba liked the idea of free food. He wasn't too sure that his wallet could handle another paying meal right away.

They prepared and went over to the banquet hall. Most everyone was already starting in on their desserts as they went to fill their plates, when they were startled by a loud "ahem" behind them.

"Just like you two to be late but I'm glad that you finally thought enough to grace us with your presence and hopefully impress us with your talent as well. I moved your names down to the last act."

Oh, shit. No, she couldn't be serious could she and why was she always on their case?

The couple sat, ate and fretted over the performance. What the hell were they going to do?

Ino knew ikebana but that wasn't much of a joint talent and it was too late to find the flowers now anyway.

"How about you perform your mind transfer jutsu on me?" suggested Kiba, trying to find anything he could think of.

"You know we can't perform jutsus. We still have to look like civilians." Damn, this was annoying.

Everyone clapped as the latest act left the stage. A voice boomed over the speaker system.

"And now for the final couple, Inuzuka Kiba and Ino."

Now what were they supposed to do?

That's when it hit Kiba who stood and held his hand out to Ino. "Name your dance." He always did work best under pressure.

She was caught off guard for just a second before she realized what he meant. "Then samba it is," she announced as they made their way to the stage.

They waited a minute for someone to find a disc with the appropriate music and then they put on a most steamy show that left everyone in the room breathless.

Even the lady who was always scolding them had to pull out a fan.

They received a standing ovation. Who would have thought that the convention's worst couple shared something so hot?

The flash of adrenaline and their sexy moves had them aroused anew and they went to make a hasty exit back to their room but were cut short by a familiar voice once again behind them.

"Inuzuka Kiba, Ino." They stopped in their tracks and turned round. "I'm not supposed to do this but after that performance I can pretty much predict where you're sneaking off to," she smirked. "I know you won't be around for the awards ceremony but I wanted to personally hand you this. I must have misjudged you two all along. I know that your aunt will be most proud. You guys take care. I know now that you can make it work."

She handed Kiba a small plaque before heading back to the banquet.

They glanced down at the little memento and read: "Tea Country's Third Quarterly Couples Workshop * Most Improved Couple."

They both had to laugh. Indeed they had made a lot of progress in the past ten days.

XXXXX

The next morning, their stay came to an end; but they were feeling surprisingly upbeat. It didn't feel like the end but rather the beginning of new adventures. Ino was looking forward to getting back to begin her training as a veterinarian and hanging around the Inuzuka compound. Yes, the future looked most promising. Compatibility card readings were definitely a load of garbage.

As soon as they arrived in Konoha they went straight to Tsunade's office.

"Ah, has it been ten days already?" she asked, looking up to see the returning couple.

"Here you go, Auntie! We brought you back a little souvenir," Kiba plopped their award plaque on her desk.

Tsunade took the object in both hands to check it over in more detail. "So your latest mission was a success I see. You can thank me for the paid vacation later," she winked. Apparently, her plan had worked. Exchanged side glances and knowing smiles passed between the chuunin only reconfirmed its success. When they left, she'd look into signing Naruto and Hinata up for the next session, she told herself.

"Does this mean you're going to sign off on our first mission now?" he asked.

"I see no reason not to. That is unless Ino has an objection like last time."

Ino just shook her head briskly. She knew she'd do best to keep quiet for awhile.

"Shizune, bring me that that old mission file," she ordered.

Finally, it was Ino's turn to speak while they waited for her to return. "Uh, Tsunade-sama…," she weighed her words carefully. There was no room for error this time. "I wanted to talk to you about possibly working with Hana over at the veterinary clinic."

"Oh, she already came by to speak with me about it, right after you left. She was really eager for me to give her my authorization. "

"And…?" Ino insisted on knowing.

"I think it's an excellent idea especially if what she told me about what you've done over there so far is true. I know that she's been struggling with the work load recently so if you feel up to the task then you can start tomorrow. I'll remove your name from the hospital schedule."

Ino wanted to leap for joy; but she somehow managed to curb her enthusiasm until they were well outside.

"She said 'yes'!" she screamed, leaping up to wrap her arms tightly around Kiba's neck.

"And she stamped the old mission papers, don't forget. I think this calls for a celebration. How about we meet at the Leaf Café tonight? Say 8:30?"

"I'll be there. I'm just gonna check in at home."

"Same here. See ya later," he saw her off with a kiss and watched her stroll away. He figured he could never grow weary of watching those beautiful hips sway. He truly felt like the luckiest man in Konoha-hell, the luckiest guy on earth for that matter. Well, there was maybe just one more thing now that he thought about it and he would get to working on it immediately.

"Daddy! I'm home!" Ino announced her return.

"Hey there, sweetheart," he sat his book down and stood to greet her. He scooped her up in a large hug. "How did the mission go? I'm glad to see you made it back in one piece," he continued looking her over carefully for the least little scrape.

"Yeah, it went fine," she hadn't been able to bring herself to tell him the truth behind her 'mission,' and although there had been no risks this time, not that he would have known, she still found his behavior uncharacteristically doting.

"I'm so pleased. We can't have anything happening to my little girl right now. There are big plans for you on the horizon," he smirked proudly.

"Oh, did Lady Tsunade already talk to you about me working over at the vet clinic? Hana seems pretty desperate for help right now."

"You're going to be working over at the vet clinic? No, no one bothered to inform me about that; but never mind, I'm sure you'll enjoy it. You've always loved animals, almost as much as flowers. Just don't let it get in the way of your duties at the flower shop. I can't afford to pay any overtime right now to the other staff. At least it's only temporary until things calm down for Hana, I suppose, and then you can continue your real training at the hospital."

"Uh, yeah," she hesitated. "Well I was planning on going out tonight so I better go get ready."

"Say 'hello' to Sakura for me. I know you two can't survive very long without your gossip time," he laughed, returning to his seat.

Usually heading off to see Sakura would have been the first thing she'd do when she got back to the village; but she wasn't comfortable enough to tell her father who she was really going to meet. She didn't want him nosing into her relationship with Kiba this early. Sure, things were plenty hot and heavy right now between them but they weren't an official couple either. Her dad would only end up scaring the poor boy away.

Ino chose a cute dress for her first date in Konoha with Kiba. She couldn't help smiling contentedly at the thought; but what would happen if they ran into some of their friends? Would it feel awkward? Would anyone wonder what they were doing out together and if someone did ask, what should she say? The answer to that last question eluded her but right now she needed to stop speculating and get moving or she was going to be late.

Kiba spotted Ino as she entered the café.

"Ah! There she is," he said standing to signal their table.

Ino arrived to find Sakura, Sai, Shikamaru, Chouji, Naruto, Hinata and Shino sitting at the table. She was pleased to see her friends but slightly disappointed that this wasn't going to be an official date. It didn't even qualify as a double date as there were too many boys and Naruto would still be clueless about Hinata's feelings (she really did need to find some gossip time with her pink-haired friend) and Sakura wasn't seeing anyone.

Kiba helped her with her chair in a most gallant gesture that raised an eyebrow on both Sakura and Shikamaru's faces. As the two most observant members of the group they immediately sensed that something was up. Kiba was being way too attentive to the blonde girl.

"So does everyone want to order drinks? First round's on me," Kiba offered.

"Wait a minute," Sakura stopped him. "Before anyone orders do you want to tell us what's up?"

"What do you mean? I can't just get together with some friends for drinks after a mission?"

Now the others were listening intently, trying to follow what they had obviously missed. All except for Shikamaru, that is, who knew he had guessed correctly if Sakura was bringing it up.

"Stop playing innocent, Kiba. If you won't say anything then I'll just ask Ino," she turned to face her best girlfriend. "Ino, what's up with you and the dog ninja who couldn't act his way out of a paper bag to save his life?"

"Nothing special that I know about," she feigned. She definitely wasn't going to be the one to place a name on whatever they were to one another.

"Oh, you're just as bad as him," Sakura crossed her arms and rolled her eyes in exasperation.

"Damn, fine, since you have to suck all the fun out of it. I was gonna wait until everyone had drinks but, yeah, if I invited you guys it was to let you know that Ino and I are going out."

Ino thought she was going to burst there and then. He had said it. It was official! So why wasn't anyone looking pleased for them as she scanned the table for signs of joyous recognition? Well maybe Naruto was smiling but he always had the same goofy look. Sakura and Shikamaru were wearing similar frowns of concern, Chouji had stopped shoving chips into his mouth, which could only mean something was eating away at him instead, Hinata looked nervous and even Shino seemed to be shifting uncomfortably under his coat. Leave it to Sai to be the first to paste on one of his obviously fake grins as he spoke: "Then this must be the time when Sakura and I invite you to go on a double date."

What the fuck? When did Sakura and Sai…

"Sai," Sakura informed him (wait, did she present a 'talk to the hand' to the artist's face?), "this is not about us. Ino, Hinata- girls' meeting in the restroom- now!" She slammed her hands on the table as she stood, letting the other two know it was time to follow or face the consequences.

Behind the safety of the restroom door, Ino had to squeal. She was simply elated. Sakura and Hinata did finally smile at their friend and they shared a group hug. They were actually happy for her. She was going steady with a guy for the first time in quite a while and they wanted her to be content but that point brought Sakura back to the business at hand.

"I'm glad you've found a guy Ino but why Kiba?"

"Why Kiba? What the hell does that mean?" Ino retorted.

"Well everyone knows that Kiba's not the kind of guy to stick with a girl for very long and you can't deny that he does have a reputation for getting around, to put it nicely. What do you think, Hinata? You've known him the longest."

"Uh, well," the Hyuuga girl stammered, fidgeting with her fingers. "Kiba's really a great guy. D-don't get me wrong, b-but he has talked about a good number of girls over the years" her voice falling to a barely audible whisper.

"Well maybe he's changed. People do, you know. Why can't you two think that?" Ino argued.

"For your sake I hope that's true, Ino. I just don't want to see you get hurt. That's all," Sakura reassured her.

"Well you sure are one to be giving lessons. Why don't you tell me what's up with you and Sai? I thought you were going to wait forever for Sasuke."

Touché. Sakura knew very well that Sai was just a miserable replacement for Sasuke but if she focused really hard sometimes she could make it feel almost real. "Well like you said, people change," she rebutted, unwilling to openly admit that she was just using the boy. "Like I said, I'm not going against you guys. I really hope it will work out; but promise me that you'll be careful."

Ino sighed, "Sakura, really you worry too much. Come on, another group hug. We better get back before one of the guys comes looking for us in here."

So they returned to finish their evening amongst friends. Drinks had been ordered in their absence and the boys appeared to be getting along well. Obviously they didn't worry as much about such silly matters.


	11. Chapter 11

A month had passed and Ino had to admit that she was the happiest she had been in years. She had truly found her niche working with the animals at the veterinary clinic.

She found herself quickly becoming a part of the Inuzuka household; even if at first she felt a bit guilty. She was receiving a salary, yet they were providing her with nearly all of her meals. She could have added boarding to the list as well because she was definitely waking up more often in Kiba's bed than in her own back at the house with her father. Fortunately she was naturally infiltrating her way into meal preparation and clean-up, bonding greatly with Kiba's mother as much as with his sister, but she still felt that she should do more.

Ino spoke with Tsume about contributing something to the household, paying for part of the groceries, doing laundry- anything to help out, but Tsume just grinned. The girl was definitely becoming an integral part of the family and as far as she was concerned she was already doing enough by looking after her son. Kiba was becoming a familiar face around the compound again. He was willingly helping out at the clinic, walking the dogs and taking care of the feedings like Hana had pestered him to do for ages on a regular basis. Tsume was quite pleased to see her son becoming more responsible, finally turning into a respectable young man. It might have sounded harsh but as the mother of a rather wild pup she felt it was about time that some girl put him on a leash and this girl had remarkably tamed him without breaking his spirit. Plus she had the added bonus of being a kunoichi with an innate talent for veterinary medicine. She was taking a tremendous workload off of her daughter, not that she was seeing her daughter anymore than usual, but at least she'd have no more excuses to not get out and find herself a mate. Now Hana was definitely the one she needed to worry about most, as the eldest sibling still residing in the house; Kiba seemed very well provided for. She just hoped that he wouldn't screw it up.

Yes, all was going well from Ino and the Inuzuka's standpoint but, needless to say, the more Ino implanted herself over at their compound, the less she was appearing over at the flowershop. She was asking everyone to fill in for her shifts, promising that she would make it up to them the following week, only to ask again. The first two times that her father confronted her (when she actually came home at night) she swore that it wouldn't happen again. The third time he needed to speak with her to put an end to her disregard, he discovered that she hadn't been home in a week. No amount of work at the vet clinic could explain this behavior and he would not have her out and about destroying her reputation- not now.

The following evening he was at the usual bar with Chouza and Shikaku complaining about the plight of having to raise a daughter.

"You guys don't know how easy you have it," he spoke into his beer. "Here I am trying to insure Ino's future and she won't even show the decency to come home at night. She's single-handedly undermining her reputation, spending her nights out in the clubs."

"Sounds too troublesome for my blood," Shikaku added in what was the most sympathy his lazy ass could muster.

"What makes you think she's out clubbing? You should be more worried about her new boyfriend," Chouza warned.

Inoichi nearly spit out the beer in his mouth. "Ino has a boyfriend?"

"Yeah, the Inuzuka kid," Chouza chuckled. Chouji mentioned it to me the other day. They were all in the same graduation class."

Why was he, the father, always the last to know about these developments? Shit! He had to leave now. "You guys cover my bill will you? There's somewhere I need to go."

He didn't wait for an answer before exiting the bar and stomping over to the dog ninja family compound. He was livid. How could his daughter be dating a boy and he not know about it. Worse, why was she dating, of all people, the Inuzuka boy? Inuzukas were to be avoided at all cost. He had learned his lesson the hard way. Now his daughter was falling into the same trap that he had years ago and was unknowingly destroying the plans he had been so painstakingly drawing out for her, to boot.

He banged on the door.

Tsume appeared at the entrance in fighting stance, Kuromaru by her side. She knew that she would be facing an enemy but never had she expected to come face to face with Inoichi, a man with whom she hadn't spoken more than two words to in over twenty years.

"I want to speak with my daughter now!" he informed her.

"Ino and Kiba are out. What's with the urgency?"

Instead of responding, he lifted his hands to perform a mind body switch. He would find out where they were alright; but Tsume recognized her ex-lover's hand signs immediately. They were the same he had used on her so many years before to read her mind, to learn about the man who would go on to become Kiba and Hana's father. It wasn't that she hadn't cared about Inoichi, what they had shared had been special at the time, but this other man from her clan had truly swept her off her feet. Even Inoichi could not have compared at the time or even today now as she thought back to her long deceased husband who died fighting the Kyuubi, leaving her with a young daughter and three month old son to raise alone.How was she supposed to have known that he was on the verge of proposing? Besides, it hadn't been the end of the world. He had gone on to find a lovely civilian wife whom he loved very much; but to have held a grudge this long was pure Yamanaka stubbornness. The look she was seeing in those large pupil less eyes was still fired by hate, there was no denying.

"You wouldn't dare," she threatened.

Kuromaru growled.

Inoichi understood that he had overstepped his bounds on their territory. He would back down for now but he would confront his daughter.

XXXXX

The following morning at the breakfast table, Tsume told Ino and Kiba about their unexpected visitor.

Kiba kept quiet in front of his mom but he and Ino had their first serious argument just minutes later outside on their way to the clinic.

"What do you mean you haven't even spoken to your dad about us yet?"

"I don't know. I just never really found the time."

"There's always time when it really matters, Ino. Are you ashamed of me or something? Cause if you're not serious about this relationship then you might as well let me know now."

"It's not that, Kiba. I just, I just…" she really didn't have a good explanation. Why couldn't she face her father? Probably because it was so much easier to stay in her warm bubble of bliss over at the Inuzuka compound than to risk having said bubble burst by her dad. If her friends had questioned their relationship, then there was no way that her father was going to let her live out her dream so easily. So it really did come back down to being embarrassed in some weird context. "Well," she started again, "I just don't think that my father would approve."

"Of us?"

"No, of you."

Kiba could feel his blood beginning to boil. "Ok, I get the picture. An Inuzuka's not good enough for a Yamanaka princess. You know, I'm not so dense that I can't figure it out," he paused as if he wanted to add something more… "Oh, just, fuck it!" He spat and ran off needing to spend some time alone to think things through, to re-evaluate the situation, because if he stayed there another second he knew that the conversation would turn even uglier.

Ino had her first bad day at the clinic. She couldn't concentrate on any of her tasks. She just kept hoping that Kiba would walk through the door so they could talk and make up but he never did.

When he didn't show up for dinner her already distraught mind sent her imagination into play. Why wasn't he there? Where could he be? What if he was reverting back to his 'old ways,' now that he was mad at her?

Tsume avoided interrogating the girl about her son's absence. They were obviously fighting over something quite serious and if her caninelike senses weren't steering her wrong she figured she had a pretty good idea about what. This wouldn't be an appropriate time for her to intervene quite yet.

With him away, Ino decided to walk Akamaru instead of helping to clean up after the meal. She felt that the brisk Autumn air would help her to clear her thoughts but as she and the dog made their way through a dense series of trees she found herself even more at unease. It was a scene much like the nightmare she had back at the conference- a thick forest, moonlight serving as the only sign of an exit. She was feeling clammy and nervous. Her stomach was in knots and she found herself vomiting up her dinner onto the forest carpet. She so wanted to know what Kiba was up to.

They walked on a ways when Akamaru barked, giving her an idea.

She knelt down to the large dog's height, her back against a tree for support. "Akamaru, I'm sorry sweety but I have to do this," and she performed a mind transfer on the canine. There would be no one to watch over her body but her safety was the last thing on her troubled mind at the moment. Now in Akamaru's body she left off to look for Kiba.

With the dog's strong flare it was easy to locate the young shinobi. Oddly enough, she found him sitting in a tree across the street from her house.

Kiba saw his faithful companion approaching and he leapt down from his perch. "Hey, boy. I figured you'd come and look for me," he reached out to scratch his pet behind the ears, not realizing that he had undergone an inner transformation. "Sorry I wasn't around today, but I just needed some time alone to think. Ok," he breathed in, "it's getting late and I need to make my move. I'm going to do this, dammit!" He was obviously trying to pump himself up for a difficult task. "I'm going to go talk to Inoichi… but it's probably best that you head home, Akamaru. I don't know how long this will take and apparently he's not much of a dog lover."

Ino remained just long enough to see him cross the street before returning to the place where she had left her body.

As soon as she released the technique she could feel tears of joy welling up in her eyes. Kiba was going to personally speak with her father and set him straight about their relationship. She felt so foolish for ever having doubted him.

Kiba showed back up at the compound rather quickly. In fact, Ino and Akamaru were still outdoors when he walked up to them. Inoichi had unfortunately not been at home when he went to knock but at least he was no longer angry with Ino. Even he had felt rather intimidated about confronting the tall mind manipulator. Now he understood how she must have felt.

He walked up to his girlfriend. "Ino, about earlier… I'm sorry that I blew up on you like that and I went to talk to your dad…"

"I know," she said taking him into a strangle hug.

"Wait. How did you know?" he wondered aloud, pulling her off with a quizzical look.

She explained about how she had been worried and about the jutsu she had performed on Akamaru. She seemed quite happy with herself.

Kiba, however, was far from pleased. He was completely and utterly furious. "You did a mind transfer on my dog just to follow me around?" he yelled.

"It's not like I followed you around all day," she answered in her defense, quite surprised that he was taking the information so negatively. The technique had definitely reassured her so she didn't find anything immediately wrong with what she had done. "I just saw…"

"I don't care what you saw Ino! I can't believe that you would spy on me like that, and with Akamaru. And you're implying that I'm the one who can't be trusted? Is it your dad who has a problem with me or is it you?" Tears were burning at his eyes. His throat ached and a large lump forming there was splitting his words as his anger turned to anguish.

Ino stepped forward to hold him, to try to explain, but he wasn't having it. Besides, he really didn't know if he was ready for the answer to his last question.

"Just, just go away Ino," he sighed, unable to look her in the face. He did however turn to see her running away from the compound as he felt his heart sink, already regretting the request but unsure how else to react.

He went into the house and straight to bed although he wouldn't fall asleep until hours later. He had far too much weighing on his mind.

He was very hurt and the fact that he was trying to apologize for getting mad earlier only to discover her betrayal only added salt to the wound. Sure he had a reputation, one that he would have been proud of just over a month ago but he really had turned over a new leaf ever since he had befriended the kunoichi and quite honestly, he would have done anything within his powers to wipe the old slate clean today. Why couldn't she just understand that? Maybe she was as afraid of getting hurt as he was when he still wasn't sure that he was ready for a relationship. Then maybe there was a reason behind her madness. It did prove that she cared, but that still didn't make her actions hurt any less.

Ino ran home in tears. It was finally occurring to her that what she had thought to be an auspicious move had been truly downright dirty. She hadn't even stopped to think what Kiba might feel at the time but he was certainly right to be mad. She had acted like a jealous bitch and had allowed her foolish thoughts to cloud what she knew deep in her heart; but she had ruined all of that. Kiba would never forgive her now.

Her mind was racing and tears blurred her vision as she brushed past two familiar figures exiting a barbeque restaurant.

"Hey, Ino," Chouji started, but quickly realized that she was in no state of mind to stop and chat.

Shikamaru gave him a curious glance. Was Chouji thinking what he was thinking? A distraught Ino running through town in tears, ignoring them completely, it could only mean one thing.

"Kiba," they spoke together.

Yes, Kiba had obviously fucked up big time! Hadn't Shikamaru predicted that his teammate's relationship would somehow become a troublesome affair for him as well? The prediction had come true as he and Chouji agreed to head over to the Inuzuka compound at the crack of dawn to set the dog ninja straight.


	12. Chapter 12

Inoichi arrived at the front door of his residence, far more than buzzed, following a long evening of good food and good liquor. It had been a prosperous evening. All plans for Ino's future had been settled with a handshake. All that was missing was the paperwork which would be drawn up and signed within a matter of days. Now the only hurdle he faced would be recuperating Ino from the Inuzuka boy's claws.

Imagine Inoichi's surprise and great pleasure, therefore, to find his daughter asleep on the couch in the living room, surrounded by piles of facial tissue that had obviously been used to mop up the remnants of a short and mal lived relationship with Kiba. Apparently the dog nin had finally screwed up. Like mother, like son, he concluded. Inoichi couldn't have asked for anything more.

He carried Ino up to her bedroom, anticipating the moment when he would be able to share his good news with her. Yes, he had definitely made the best (the right) decision for her, he felt.

Bright and early the next morning, Chouji was banging on the door of the Inuzuka family household. Shikamaru had easily decided that his brute strength would be the most intimidating strategy while he settled off to the side of the porch, lost in the morning shadows, hands placed lazily in his pockets.

Fortunately, perhaps, for them, Kiba was already up and about. Sleep had not treated him kindly this night.

"What the hell do you two want this time of morning?" Well it could have been a mission but at this point even one of those wouldn't have brightened his spirits.

"This is kind of troublesome," Shikamaru started, scratching nervously at the back of his neck, "but we saw Ino last night and as her friends we feel we need to talk."

"She asked you guys to come and apologize for her?" Kiba seemed rather perplexed.

"No," Chouji corrected him, "we came to tell you that she's obviously upset and even if we know how you are, what you did is wrong. I mean, she might have her little problems but we can't just stand by while you treat her like that. You guys have barely been dating for a month and already you're cheating on her."

"Wait, wait. Hold up. What the fuck? You guys think I cheated on Ino?"

"Apparently," Shikamaru replied with a sigh. "And Chouji and I have dealt with a lot of Ino's mood swings over the years but I've never seen her so down and out that she'd brush us off and run by in tears like she did last night."

Kiba's heart plunged at the thought of the sight. Could she really have been so distraught? He wished it hadn't have happened but it wasn't like she was the only one hurting. "I think you're right. We do need to talk. Why don't you guys come on in for some breakfast?" he suggested, burying the hatchet and avoiding what could have been the ass kicking of a lifetime if he didn't clear matters up immediately.

"Now that's a good idea," Chouji's eyes sparkled, as he forgot for a second to be mad.

Shikamaru elbowed him lightly in the ribs as they followed Kiba into the house giving him a 'we don't fraternize with the enemy for free food' glare.

Over the meal, Kiba explained the truth behind the situation to his comrades.

"Man, that's harsh, using Akamaru like that" even Chouji had to admit between bites.

Shikamaru had few opinions on matters of the heart but wasn't surprised to learn that Ino would make an impulsive move. Unlike him she had always acted on emotion before thinking through the consequences; but, at least knowing that, he was able to speak in her favor.

"I know I don't run into Ino like I should nowadays, but being up in the Hokage tower all of the time, as much as I try to tune it out, I hear Tsunade and Shizune and all of the village gossip and if there's one thing that I do know, Ino is the happiest that she's been in ages. The council has been buzzing about the work she's doing over at the clinic, too. When our team fell apart I wasn't sure what Ino would go on to do. Technically speaking it's pretty difficult for her to perform her jutsu without my shadow technique. No one ever thought about where that would leave her at the time but she seems to have found a new spark in life and in more ways than one," he cleared his throat at the underlying hint. He really didn't need to imagine that 'spark.' It was really troublesome to have to go into relationship drama with another guy; but he did care greatly for Ino and wanted to help her out. Perhaps he could steer her and Kiba back in the right direction. At least she couldn't say that he had never done anything for her.

"So what are you telling me to do?" Kiba asked.

"I'm not telling you to do anything; but think of this like a game of shougi where you need to decide your next move. Now you know where the pieces stand, so what are you going to do?"

"I've never played shougi."

Shikamaru sighed, rolling his eyes to look up at the ceiling. This was going to be tougher than he had originally thought.

"What's with the stupid strategy game metaphors? Do you want to stay with Ino or not?" Chouji blurted out most bluntly and with words that finally made sense to the dog ninja.

Kiba's abrupt reply shocked even his own ears: "Of course I want to stay with Ino. I love her and…" he stopped short, having pronounced the fatal four letter word in front of fellow male friends.

Shikamaru and Chouji understood immediately. There was no point in badgering the boy any longer. There work here was done but it was Kiba who rose to dash off.

"You guys finish up and just let yourselves out. I need to go see-"

"Yeah, we know," Shikamaru cut him off, smirking to himself as he settled back in his chair to wait for Chouji to finish.

"Good luck," Chouji urged him on, all the while making sure that Kiba's untouched breakfast didn't go to waste.

When Kiba arrived in front of the Yamanaka house he realized just how scruffy and unkempt he looked. He definitely didn't fit the image of the boy you take home to meet your father but he couldn't be worried about that now- he was here to see the daughter.

He knocked at the door.

Inoichi answered.

"Inuzuka! You've got a lot of nerve coming around here."

"I'd like to speak with Ino, please."

"Well she's not available and I'm quite certain that she doesn't want to speak with you."

Kiba cricked his neck to peek inside of the humble abode for any sign of the kunoichi that would tell him otherwise. His keen hearing detected the sound of a shower running somewhere inside. Unless Inoichi had a lady friend over then Ino was most certainly at home. He cricked his neck further and noticed the trail of tissues littering the living room. Now there was no doubt that she was there.

"Look I don't want any trouble but I need to speak with your daughter," he said, attempting to step into the threshold. He didn't make it inside but he did catch a better glimpse of the shabby interior.

Ino had spoken little of her family life and had definitely never invited Kiba to visit her home. Now he somehow understood why. This house was not a happy house. It held the presence of a lovely young woman named Ino, but was nonetheless missing a woman's touch. It was as if the residence had remained frozen in time, living in the haunting memory of Inoichi's deceased wife. He could tell that they were not an affluent family. The décor was modest and sober, much less happy and gay than what you would expect for a family that ran a flower shop. That's when Kiba realized that if Ino worked in the family flowershop it was not just for love of plants. He had often wondered how she could pull triple duty. She had missions, had up until recently worked in the hospital and she did shifts at the boutique. No other kunoichi he knew had so much side work to fulfill and if she was taking on so many roles, he understood now, it was because she really didn't have the choice. No wonder her skills had plummeted, given the extra heavy workload. It was no surprise that she loved working at the vet clinic so much. What a relief it must be for her to finally consolidate her jutsu with her medical training and be earning a salary as well. Never would he have dreamed that bringing her over to the Inuzuka compound could have represented so much to her. She was definitely not the pampered princess that she led on to be.

If Inoichi was afraid of losing Ino over a salary then Kiba could put his mind quickly to rest. He would tell him how happy she was, how well she was doing at the clinic, how much he loved her and how he would make sure that her absence from the flower shop didn't cause a financial burden for Inoichi. He would, well, scruffy look right now or not, ask properly for the man's blessing and express an official verbal request for rights over his daughter.

Yes, there was so much he would explain, that he would make right, to create their happy ever after when Inoichi spoke: "I've tried to tell you nicely. Now, I'll put it to you bluntly. Ino is betrothed to Aburame Shino. I have finalized all of the details with his father. You have no further 'business' with my daughter," he finished, slamming the door in the stunned dog ninja's face.

Wait. Had he heard that correctly? Shino? Why the hell was Shino's name being thrown into the picture? It was all he could do to try and think straight but before he knew it his legs were flying beneath him. He was running in anger, running in fury, to the Aburame compound.

Kiba found Shino training early behind his family's house.

"How could you? You fucking…" He didn't even have words for what Shino might be.

Shino kept a smug, calm air about him which only infuriated the dog nin further. Before Kiba even thought of finding the insult, he was on the attack, claws and fangs fully exposed. He ran with extreme fury at Shino; but the bug wielder caught him in a cloud of insects that held him paralyzed.

"Kiba, I do not want to fight you. You have to understand that me marrying Ino was not my decision. Our fathers planned this."

"So you've known about this all along and you didn't say a thing when we announced that we were going out?" he spat, pulling against the tug of the kikai.

"Yes, I knew; but as even you must comprehend, it is not easy for an Aburame to find a mate. We almost always have to arrange our marriages. Furthermore, I cannot go against the wishes of my father and the clan."

"So you're not backing down? Not even knowing what I feel?"

"Kiba, you are a friend but my clan will always come first. If you insist on fighting me, I will not hold back."

His message was clear, even if he really meant it as a way of avoiding the inevitable, but his righteous tone and callous speech only succeeded in peaking Kiba's anger to its most dangerous level to date. The dog ninja's every muscle flexed and tore against the wall of bugs that entrapped him, with a strength that even he was not aware of possessing. Finally breaking two hands free, he performed the signs for his 'piercing fang' jutsu and thundered at Shino with breakneck speed.

Shino tried to jump out of the way in time but had never seen his comrade come at him this quickly in any of their practice sessions. His left arm remained in the path of the oncoming drill as Kiba dove into the ground where he had stood.

He tried to lift both arms to send forth another swarm but realized that the one limb was out of action. He would be forced to make do with only half of his remaining army.

Kiba, now recovered from the dizzying spin, made the signs for a new 'piercing fang' jutsu; but this time Shino was better able to anticipate his wrath and successfully dodged the attack. Sending his kikai would be pointless during Kiba's spin. This he knew rather well. The strong tornado would only repulse the insects; however, he wouldn't be able to continue using this one ninjutsu without finally running low on chakra. At least, that was Shino's excuse for spending his time side stepping the onslaught of attacks. Kiba was on Aburame turf and he had clan honor to defend but no matter how strong his earlier warning might have been he really and truly did not want to hurt the dog ninja.

After a few more unsuccessful drill moves Kiba came at Shino with taijutsu. Shino could detect that he was growing weary but his moves still packed surprising speed and he was definitely taking a pummeling from his friend. He would have to use his bugs again to wrap up this combat and immobilize Kiba before actually losing- an option which his father would not look kindly upon.

The new wave of insects was smaller than the first but he infused them with a larger burst of chakra which sent them out from his sleeve in a massive wave of destruction. The supercharged kikai coated the dog ninja. They bit ravenously into his skin, even his eyes became open prey; but anger and frustration found him still throwing punches in hopes of connecting a blow on his comrade turned enemy. Blinded by the insects, however, he lost his footing and fell, hurtling forward and headfirst into a large boulder.

The collision rendered him unconscious.

Back at the Yamanaka household, Ino was sitting on the couch. Her eyes red and puffy, anxiously waiting for Kiba to knock at the door. She knew that she had made the stupidest mistake of her life but she hoped that he would forgive her and come round to fetch her at any moment. Until then she would not leave this spot.

"Hey, sweetheart, can we talk?" Her father sat down beside her; but she only looked down at the tissue she was twisting nervously between her hands.

"I know that you're hurting right now but I think this is the perfect time to cheer you up and tell you about your bright new future."

Ino really couldn't have cared less at this point. No future could be bright without Kiba.

Inoichi began: "As you know, I'm always worrying about you. Ever since your mother's death I've tried my best to provide for you and to insure your happiness. I tried to help you find a good civilian boy with the debutante ball but that didn't work out, as we both know. Now I understand that with your strong spirit and all of the years you've spent training to be a kunoichi that you would be better off with a guy who has shared some of your same experiences, someone you can relate to, another shinobi. At the same time, I think we both understand (especially in light of recent events) that this man needs to be trustworthy and serious."

Ino looked up quickly. Did he think that Kiba had been the one to wrong her?

"Should he come from an affluent family," he continued, "then, well, that would just be another added bonus." Inoichi smiled to himself. He really had solved all of her (their) problems by choosing the Aburame boy.

Ino had a puzzled look. Even if she wasn't totally concentrating on what her father was saying, he was speaking in riddles that had her confused. "J-just get to the point, daddy, please," she sniffed. Her head was throbbing after a night of sobbing and she didn't feel like playing this game with him right now.

"I've been speaking with Aburame Shibi and we have all but signed the marriage promise between you and Shino. Aren't you excited?" he threw his arm around her to take her into a proud fatherly hug. "Shino's an excellent shinobi from a fine family, a very respectable boy. His father seems most pleased with you as well," he winked. "You're quite a catch for an Aburame. It's almost too perfect!" he finished.

"Y-you're forcing me to marry Shino?!" she screamed, pulling away from his embrace. Her head felt like it was about ready to split.

"It's not forcing, Ino. I'm just looking after your best interests, making sure that you're well provided for and happy with a man who won't reduce you to the kind of state you're in now."

"You don't understand anything!" she yelled at him, trembling with frustration when there came a loud rapping at the door.

Inoichi stood with a loud groan. Damn, this dog ninja was annoying and persistent. He flung back the door, "What do you want now!" before realizing that it was Sakura standing at the door.

"Uh, um… is Ino in, Yamanaka-san?"

"Yeah, come on in," he welcomed her. Maybe if he explained the situation to his daughter's pink-haired friend she'd be able to talk some reason into the girl.

"I-Ino, are you ok? I didn't think you knew already so I rushed right over." She didn't know when or from whom she would have heard the news so quickly but she certainly had to know about Kiba's condition to be in the shitty looking state she was now.

Ino didn't, couldn't answer. Seeing her best friend, the one whose shoulder she had so often cried on, she knew that anything she would say would only turn into a full-fledged breakdown of fresh tears.

"Do you want to come with me to see him at the hospital?" Sakura suggested.

Ino looked as if she didn't understand; Inoichi, neither.

"You want to take her to see who?" he asked.

Sakura looked up at Inoichi and back to her friend. She read the confusion on their faces.

"You mean, you don't know?"

Somehow Ino didn't want to know. She could feel her heart, her stomach, her organs tightening, clenching in fear of the worst. Were she not a kunoichi, emotionally tested and trained to accept these scenarios then she would have collapsed into her own state of unconsciousness when she learned that Kiba was now lying at the hospital in critical condition.


	13. Chapter 13

Ino spent almost all of her time at Kiba's bedside, waiting for him to regain consciousness. A week and a half had passed but he still showed no signs of coming out of the coma. The medical staff reassured her that his life was not in danger. His body was simply struggling to repair the damage around the fragile nerve cells of his brain. Once the connections would be repaired then he would find the force to return to consciousness. The problem therefore, lay not in the fact that he would eventually recover but the time that it would take.

Ino found it impossible to believe them, despite her own medical training. Seeing him lying motionless only meant imminent death as far as she was concerned. Kiba was a young man always so vibrant and full of life. She found it nearly impossible to believe that he could be just lying there, unmoving; despite her pleas for him to show some sign of his former self.

On the eleventh evening Tsume walked into the room to find Ino in her usual state of vigilance. She knew that it was unhealthy for the girl to continue tormenting herself like this. It would be best if she returned to work in the clinic where she could take her mind off of Kiba's current condition.

A quick glance of the girl's face nearly startled the mother. Ino had not been eating or taking care of herself like she should but now after nearly two weeks of worrying, the physical repercussions were showing in her newly sunken features. This worried the mother. What if what she had felt a while back was true? She approached the young kunoichi and searched for the tell–tale scent she had almost certainly picked up on before. Yes, there was no denying. She took the girl's chin in her hand and peered into her large sky blue eyes now encircled by dark rings from lack of sleep and malnutrition.

"Ino, you have got to stop sitting here and pining. You're wasting away into nothing. You know that Kiba would not want to see you like this. Besides, we need to talk. Come back with me to the house and I'll make you a proper meal."

Ino would have liked to protest. What if Kiba came to and she wasn't there for him? Taking another look at his fragile, motionless figure she realized that would hardly be the case and too weak to argue with Tsume, she allowed herself to be led out of the hospital room.

After a few sips of soup Ino felt ill. It wasn't only that she had no appetite since Kiba's accident but when she did try to eat her stomach quickly rebelled. She could barely keep anything down.

Tsume took a seat in front of the girl, coaxing her to eat. "Do you want to tell me about your argument with Kiba the other day? I still haven't figured out how it ties into his fight with Shino."

Ino explained about the arranged marriage and how Kiba had learned about it from her father. Even she hadn't known he knew until, through a bit of cross examining of her dad, she discovered that he had been by the house while she was in the shower. She had left in tears and started spending her days and nights at Kiba's bedside- too furious to return home with her parent and too embarrassed to seek asylum at the Inuzuka's place.

"You know our door is always open to you, Ino," she took the girl in a warm embrace, "but you still haven't told me what you two were originally fighting about. You didn't come back that last night and Kiba was visibly upset even then."

The mind user admitted to how she had used her family jutsu to spy on her boyfriend, her head hung low in shame.

"Now I understand, but please continue," Tsume urged.

"Well that's it, really."

"There are no other problems between you two?" Tsume suggested.

"Should there be?" Ino's eyes widened in panic. Had she missed something?

"Oh my! You don't know do you?" She had read the innocence in the girl's eyes and went on to explain. "But don't worry. I'll go to speak with your father myself tonight. I think I know how to handle him. You just eat up to get back some strength and we'll head over to the hospital together tomorrow morning."

Ino gave her a quick nod and appetite or not she wolfed down the rest of her meal, her mind racing.

XXXXX

Inoichi jumped at the knock on his front door. Could that be…

"Ino, you don't have to knock…," he was cut short as he swung open the door to find Tsume standing there. "Oh, it's just you. What do you want?" he asked curtly, returning to sit on the couch where he quickly picked up a bottle of liquor he had apparently been nursing for most of the day.

Tsume was surprised by the run down state of the place but even more so by the run down state of the head of household. She sighed and took an uninvited seat next to the Yamanaka.

After such a cold welcome, she decided to get straight to the point. "You need to break the marriage contract with Shibi."

"And who are you to tell me what I should and shouldn't do for my daughter?"

"How about her future mother-in-law who seems to have more respect for her true feelings than her father does."

"If you came over just to insult me or to try to make me change my mind then you can leave now," he warned.

"Trust me. I won't keep you much longer, but just know that you'd do best to sober up some. I don't think you'll want your future grandchild to remember you like this."

Inoichi looked quizzical. It took a few seconds for her words to sink in. "I-Inos's pregnant?" No, this couldn't be true. This was obviously a ruse on the dog kunoichi's part. "Look, I know you want Ino for that cur of yours but I won't fall for such a lowdown trick."

"No matter what your past problems are with me, you should know that I would never lie about something this important. I'm taking her to the hospital tomorrow for tests, if you don't believe me."

What should he think? What should he believe?

"If you won't make the effort to put a stop to this silly marriage idea of yours," she continued, "then I will take it upon myself to announce the news to Shibi and if he's as stubborn as you are (which I highly doubt given the circumstances) then I won't hesitate taking the results to the Hokage herself.

Inoichi was speechless. It was as if his whole world, all of his well-laid plans had been overturned in just a matter of seconds. He had lost his wife and now he had most certainly lost his daughter.

Tsume stood to leave. She turned back to give him and the house one more pitiful look. "You have got to pull yourself together Inoichi. Stop dwelling on the past and start thinking of the possibilities for a bright new future. There is a new generation on its way," and she exited the house, leaving the mind user to ponder his situation.

The next morning at the hospital, Tsume felt it would be most appropriate to let Sakura run the tests. As Tsunade's assistant she could serve as a support and back-up witness to the results if she really did have to go as far as to speak with the village leader.

Sakura did her best to contain her shock when she learned why her best friend was there. She knew that she had to keep a façade of professionalism, despite running a pregnancy exam on Ino.

The tests were definitely positive and she did have to break out of her doctor's mask for one squeal of joy over her friend's state.

Ino had mixed feelings however. This was something that she needed to be able to share with Kiba. What if he didn't share her same enthusiasm? She shared her concerns with Sakura.

"Don't worry, Ino. I know that it's going to be tough for you with Kiba still out of action but do you really think he'd be anything but pleased?"

"Well, we're still kind of young."

"Not really. Lots of us girls settle down by the time we're twenty-two," Sakura said, thinking more of her own predicament. How long would she have to continue to wait for Sasuke? "I mean, do you really see yourself with anyone else, ever?"

"No," Ino quickly admitted.

"I'm sure that Kiba feels the same way. So you got started a little early in the baby department but in another two years it was bound to happen anyways."

"Yeah, yeah… I guess you're right. Thanks Sakura; but I'd better get going. I promised Tsume that I'd start back up at the clinic instead of worrying over Kiba all day long but I do want to check in with him before I leave."

"I understand. I'll walk with you. I'm headed over that way right now myself," Sakura suggested.

Sakura hugged her friend good-bye at Kiba's door and watched through the glass window as she went to sit beside the unconscious man she loved more than anyone in the world. She could tell by Ino's gestures that she was announcing the news to Kiba whether he understood or not. She tried to imagine what it must feel like to be in such a predicament- having to simply wait and wait, all alone, not knowing how long it would take. She knew that Ino would wait a lifetime, if that's what it took, for Kiba to wake-up to be with her again. Sakura sighed. So why was she simply settling with Sai, living a lie? She was certainly not happy and watching Ino stand by her man, despite all of the uncertainties, only reinforced her feelings of self-loathing. She took one long, last look at the couple through the glass pane and decided there and then that she was breaking up with Sai and and that she would request a solo Sasuke retrieval mission in hopes of being with the boy.

XXXXX

Half a year had gone by and Sakura had still not returned from her search. Ino was visiting with Kiba as she did every evening to recount to him the day's events and her preparations for their child.

This evening Shino and Hana walked through the hospital room door, hand in hand. Ino had long since forgiven the bug user for his role in Kiba's accident. He had still never found the courage to back out of the wedding on his own by confronting his father but did come to congratulate her and to apologize personally when he learned that she was pregnant and that the marriage arrangement was therefore officially off. He admitted that he was quite relieved to not to have to marry her and during a rather uncharacteristically sentimental discussion, spurred on by all of the previous events, he admitted to seeing Hana in private. In fact, her late hours were mostly due to secret meetings with Shino who feared that she was just trying to be nice and that their relationship would never amount to anything beyond friendship. Plus she was older and quite attractive. He never dared to think that she could actually fall for a guy like him; but as a vet who had dealt with dogs and their ticks and fleas, Hana turned out to be quite an appropriate match. She was not disgusted by the prospect of waking up every day with a bug wielder and intellectually, despite the age difference, Shino definitely shared the same level of maturity as she did. When Ino learned of his feelings, she played matchmaker, dropping subtle hints to Hana at the clinic until the older vet realized that he was in fact interested in taking their relationship to the next level. They had been officially dating for about three months now and Shibi was already looking forward to working out a new marriage contract for his son. Only this time, both parties would be happy- none happier however than Tsume who was finally about to marry her oldest child off after years of worrying what would become of her.

Ino rose to greet the couple when Kiba stirred.

All three gathered round to see if this might be the moment.

Kiba's eyes opened slowly. He batted his lids a few times to clear his vision and to adjust to the light, however low it had been set.

"Kiba? Kiba? Can you hear me?"

He turned stiffly to focus on Ino's silhouette. At first he thought that he was seeing double and blinked again. Her shape had definitely changed. That was when he realized that she was quite pregnant. For a second he was stunned and then he heard his sister calling out to him. He turned to look and once again thought he was seeing double until he realized that Shino was in the room as well. Then a sad feeling gripped him as all of the memories of what had happened came flooding back. Of course Ino would be pregnant. She was marrying Shino last time he remembered of course; but how long had he been out of it and what a fucking arrogant bastard his ex-friend was to come and rub his defeat in his face while he was still down. He started to speak, but found that his mouth was too dry to spit the hateful words that stuck in his throat.

"Shhh, Kiba. Take it easy, sweetheart. Don't try to talk just yet. Let me get you some water," Ino offered and went to fill a nearby glass.

Kiba glared at Shino, hoping that his stare would produce the damage he still wanted to inflict on the boy but couldn't be sure he even noticed through the dark, opaque lenses he wore.

"Here," Ino returned with the water. "Let me help you; but promise to drink slowly," she helped to prop him up.

'Why was she being so nice, like a daunting wife, if she was married to Shino?' he wondered. Now in a sitting position he could see that Hana and Shino were holding hands. Wait, what the hell was going on?

Ino must have read his quizzical look as she followed his gaze to the other couple. She gave him a loving kiss on the cheek. "I think we have a lot to fill you in on," she beamed, overjoyed to have him back.

Firstly, Kiba could barely believe that he had been unconscious for six months. Even more difficult to comprehend was all of the events that had transpired in that time. Shit, he was going to be a father in just a couple of months! Large tears began to roll down his cheeks.

Suddenly, Ino was frightened. "Please tell me those are tears of joy Kiba," she begged.

"God, Ino, I love you so fucking much," he struggled to speak before he broke down and wept. His declaration had barely been audible but not an ear in the room had missed those words and there wasn't a remaining dry eye amongst them.

XXXXX

Once word of the birth reached Inoichi even he had to give in. He waited for the first few weeks of non-stop visits to die down to go to see the new baby.

He stood for a long time on the front porch, hesitating to knock, when Kiba ran up behind him accompanied by Akamaru. He had been out training, re-building the muscle he had lost while in the coma. He hoped to be back on missions within a month. It would be tough to leave Ino and the baby behind but he had a family to provide for now. This wasn't the time to sit back on his haunches and relax.

Akamaru growled at the visitor. Inoichi looked tired and worn. He seemed to have aged ten years since Kiba had seen him last. It was difficult not to pity him.

"Now, now, Akamaru, let's not treat Grandad with disrespect no matter how much he hates us. Not everyone can be a dog lover you know."

Kiba opened the door and entered before him. "Ino, Ryouken, you have a visitor," he called.

"Not so loud, honey. Ryouken's asleep," Ino shushed him going to welcome him back home with a kiss. "Who's the visit-," she stopped short catching sight of her father in the doorframe.

"I-Ino," Inoichi started, fearful of her hesitation; but was relieved when she ran to throw herself into his arms.

"Daddy," she sobbed. "I've missed you so much." After almost losing Kiba and still caught in the glow of new motherhood, she realized just how important family was and she needed her father back in her life, no matter how bad their past conflicts had been. "Come see your grandson," she said, leading him in from the foyer.

Kiba arrived with the baby cradled in his arms before they could even make it into the next room.

"Did you get him up just for that?" Ino scolded.

"No, I swear. He was already awake," he defended; but she knew it was highly doubtful. She had just laid him down for a nap not ten minutes earlier. Kiba just couldn't help playing the proud father who wanted to show off his son.

"So, I have a grandson!" It was Inoichi's turn to beam. "Can I hold him?" That was the moment when the cold, protective wall around his heart came tumbling down. He looked up from the beautiful child to the smiling, happy couple and realized that Kiba had done well.

Tsume returned with an arm load of groceries. She invited Inoichi to stay for dinner and he kindly took her up on the offer. He enjoyed himself immensely, remembering the feel of a happy household, a feeling which he had denied himself for far too long. After that day, he would become a rather stable presence on the Inuzuka compound, often coming around to see the baby or simply to have tea with Tsume whose company he was apparently enjoying more and more with each passing day. Even Kiba began to joke that his father-in-law might soon become his stepfather; but most importantly, they were all finally laughing. Despite Inoichi's original fears of losing his daughter to a worthless dog, he found himself a member of a whole new, steadily growing pack.

It had been a damn long journey since Kiba and Ino had battled it out for the title of team leader but no one doubted their teamwork in the end.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

FIN


End file.
